Those Graceful Grasses

We northern gardeners always have a couple of forbidden fruits we lust after; those species we’d love to grow but they just won’t survive in our harsh New England climate. One of mine is Pampas Grass, Cortaderia selloana.

I fell in love with this lofty, opulent grass when I lived for a brief time in west Texas. The neighbor up the street blocked everyone’s right turn view with a gargantuan clump of this feathery grass that stood on the corner like an overdressed diva imperiously waiting for a light to change.

I carried on a love/hate relationship with that grass. Though I loved its looks, I wasn’t too fond of its location. You couldn’t see around it’s bushy mass to tell if a vehicle was bearing down on your from the right. Upon returning to New Hampshire I was dismayed to learn Pampas Grass wouldn’t grow here. Since then, hardy varieties have been developed, but it still won’t grow north of Zone 6.

The increasing popularity of ornamental grasses is largely due to the facts that they thrive even in poor dry soil, look great throughout the season and on into winter, and most require very little care. Some species grasses, especially annual ones, are easy to start from seed and garden centers are beginning to carry perennial varieties on a regular basis. http://www.seedman.com/Orngrass.html Ornamental grass can be used as a screen, a focal point, accent plant, or even as a border. There are tall stately grasses and low plump ones, a grass for nearly every purpose and garden type.

Got a tiny garden, but want to try growing ornamental grass? No problem. Choose a low clumping variety like Blue Fescue, Festuca glauca, Zone 4, that takes up a mere square foot of space and grows just 12 inches high. You can even grow this grass that resembles one of Tina Turner’s hairdos in containers.

Do you want something that will make a statement in landscape? Try the tall graceful Silver Feather Grass, Miscanthus sinensis, “Silverfeder”. This grass is the closest we northerners can get to growing Pampas Grass. The white flower heads of feather grass resemble a smaller version of that southern relative and persist all winter long. This clump forming grass grows 6-9 feet high with a spread of 2 feet. It’s hardy to Zone 4.

Another tall grass that acts as a striking focal point in the garden is Moor Grass, Molina arundinacea, “Skyracer”. http://www.jdsgardens.com/ornamentalgras... The varietal name of this grass refers to the lacy flower heads born on long stiff stalks above the urn shaped mass of foliage. This grass forms neat clumps, grows 7-8 feet tall, 3 feet wide and is hardy to Zone 4.

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