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Planting
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It’s
only natural to love grasses
Gardening
is full of trends and perhaps the world of garden design even more
so. This year’s
Chelsea Flower Show was no exception with the emphasis well and
truly on natural gardening, focusing on plants that grow as native
species or those that are adept at thriving with very little
on-going maintenance.
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It
may not be too surprising to learn that a large proportion of our own
country’s native species are grasses.
With the fashions of garden design changing with the wind, one
trend is growing ever stronger.
Although
the use of grasses in planting schemes is one being championed by many
modern designers, grasses were used frequently by the legendary Gertrude
Jekyll. The reasons for
their ever increasing popularity are many, from the architectural
splendour of their foliage to their true versatility at growing in a
wide range of conditions. Many
grasses are colourful statements simply with their foliage like the
evergreen Stipa arundinacea, with its rich, shiny hues of orange
and red in late summer.
Taller
grasses like the majestic Stipa gigantea are almost unmatched in
the garden for their stately elegance, the golden spikelets held proudly
above the grey-green foliage. Caught in even the lightest breeze, this
grass sways with a mesmerizing beauty.
One
of the most advantageous aspects of grasses is the contrast of their
foliage to most other broad leaved garden plants. They have the ability
to soften the form of a planting scheme and provide rhythm with their
upright character. They change considerably with the mood of the seasons
and in winter their frost-sparkled seed heads float like whispered
memories above tinted foliage.
There’s
a grass for almost any location, with small blue Fescue’s like ‘Blue
Fox’ and the blood-red stems of Imperata cylindrica ‘Rubra’
perfect for containers. Carex
morrowi ‘Variegata’ is well suited as ground cover, its
prostrate, evergreen foliage hugging the soil.
The tall Calamagrostis ‘Karl Foerster’ is an ideal
grass for screening when grown in numbers
and is named after the German nurseryman who pioneered the public’s
awareness of grasses.
With
graceful beauty and varied characters, it’s no wonder grasses have
become the essential ingredient of many modern day gardens.
BACK
to the advice point, please
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adam s bailey
BA Hons (Garden Design), MGLD
Unit 9, Home Farm, 3 Riverside, Eynsford, Kent, DA4 0AE
Garden design in Kent • East Sussex
• Essex • South East London
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Member of
The Guild of
Landscape Designers
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