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SPICE UP YOUR LANDSCAPE WITH ORNAMENTAL GRASSES Are you growing weary of a landscape dominated by the same old look including junipers, conifers and deciduous shrubs? Does your rock garden or perennial bed need a little “spicing up” with different texture and form to contrast with your existing plants? How about a low maintenance border or ground cover to help your existing layout? Perhaps you need an interesting filler to aid in a privacy screen? If your answer is a resounding “Yes!” to any of the above questions, perhaps you need an addition of ornamental grasses into your landscape! Ornamental grasses include an array of foliage color, height, textures, form and flower plumage that can accent or compliment all sorts of plant material or structures they encounter! This hardy and low maintenance family of plants can really make your landscapes, containers and window box plantings a treat for the visual senses. When mixed in with other plants to compliment, accent or contrast, they always catch your eye! They are great specimen plants to create a container or garden area around. Here at Ritter’s Floral and Nursery, we’re growing a good collection of ornamental grasses for your gardening pleasure. Hopefully, you will get acquainted and incorporate some of the following ornamental grasses into your garden. And now……..here they are!! SWEET FLAG (Acorus gramineus ‘ogon’) This golden-yellow clumper makes a great contrast in mass plantings, container gardens of by a water feature. It likes full to partial sun and attains a height of 10” and a spread of a bit more. Hardy to -10 F. VARIEGATED OAT GRASS (Arrhenatherum elatus ‘voriegatum’) Growing to about 16” in height and clumping to about the same in width, this variegated grass (green & white) graces any rock garden or perennial border. It also makes a fine specimen plant. It needs full sun to part shade and is hardy to -20 F. TOFFEE TWIST SEDGE (Cares flagellifera ‘Toffee Twist’) This sage reaches about 24” in height before arching downward towards the ground. It adds structural grace to containers, window boxes and landscapes. There’s no color like it….and iridescent copper! Toffee Twist likes partial shade and is hardy to 0 F. GOLD FOUNTAINS SEDGE (Carex ‘Kaga-nisbiki’) This carex likes shade to part shade and mounds up to 15 inches. The leaves are slender and elegant green with a border of gold. It makes and eye-catching ground cover or border plant. Hardiness is to -10 F. NORTHERN SEA OATS OR SPANGLE (Chasmanthium latifolium) This grass exhibits slender bamboo-like foliage that changes from green to copper to gold as the season progresses! The flower heads are green spikelets that give an effect of dangling jewels. This is a creative plant to incorporate into a shade garden that needs height. It reaches 36 inches in height, likes shade, and is hardy to -20 F. cHINA LOVE GRASS (Eragrostis sp.) Chinese love grass forms an 18 inch high, wide-leafed dense clump and loves sun from mid-summer through autumn. Cloud-like drifts of reddish-pink seed heads hover just above the leaves! They become a rich gold as the mature. This plant is great in containers or in a mid-border position in the landscape. It likes sun and is hardy to 0 F. ELIJAH BLUE FESCUE (Festuca ovina glauca ‘Elijah Blue’) This grass forms dense tufted blue mounds that reach 8” in height. Good uses for ‘Elijah Blue’ fescue would be in rocky gardens, as edging, as a ground cover or in any sunny location that needs an accent of blue. It loves sun and it’s hardy to -20 F. BLUE OAT GRASS (Helictotrichon sempervirens) This metallic blue beauty with spikey foliage bears tan flower plumes in the summer that take on a cereal grain appearance. Blue oat grass can be used in many instances such as a border plant, a specimen plant, or in a rock garden. It reaches 12 inches in height, loves sun-partial sun and is hardy to -30 F. FLAME GRASS (Miscanthus sinesis ‘purpurascens’) This miscanthus can reach 5 feet in height and spread, so give it a bit of space when planting. It bears bright silky-white flower plumes in early summer and then turns to a blaze of red color by the beginning of autumn! It is a definite must in a garden in need of fall color and can be used as a screen or accent plant in the landscape. It likes full sun and is hardy to -20 F. MAIDEN GRASS (Miscanthus sinensis ‘Adagio’) Maiden grass requires full sun to attain a height and spread of 4 feet. It bears red tinted flower plumes in autumn and is very fine textured. Uses in the landscape include screen and specimen plantings. It likes sun and is hardy to -20 F. EVLALIA MAIDEN GRASS (Miscanthus sininsis ‘Ferner osten’) This grass not only puts on a show in the garden, but the flower plumes it produces are excellent in flower arrangements! In the landscape, it can reach a height of 5 feet and boasts dark green foliage with a bright silver midrib! The blooms are a beautiful reddish-copper color and last from late July into August. Uses include screens, backing for mixed borders or by a water feature. It likes sun and is hardy to -20 F. FEATHER GRASS (Stipa capillata) Feather grass makes a stunning accent plant in a perennial border and can also be used in hot, dry, rocky situations in the landscape. It attains a height of 24 inches and likes full sun. The delicate flower plumes are widely used in floral arrangements. Hardy to -20 F. |
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