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Tuesday, March 19, 2024
March 19, 2024

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Garden Life: Shrubs, grasses bring special definition to garden

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Used individually, shrubs can stand as specimen plants in every season. Camellia sasanqua “Yuletide,” with its Christmas red flower petals, yellow anthers and dark green, glossy leaves, will bloom from November through January in a mild year. Late winter brings out the petite blooms of many species of sweetly fragrant sarcococca or Winter Box. In early spring viburnums such as Korean Spice fill the air with their piquant scent.

Used in groups, shrubs frame a view, divide a garden or serve as a backdrop for a focal point or flower display. Azaleas, rhododendrons and other spring-blooming shrubs add color, height and texture to a flower border. Roses, hydrangeas and the fuchsias continue the show through summer and the fiery autumn leaves of the compact Burning Bush (Euonymus alata) rival any other seasonal flower display.

One group of plants that undergoes a dramatic transformation at this time of year is the ornamental grasses. Most have reached their full height by the end of summer but it takes the onset of cooler weather to bring out their best qualities. Now, the stalks of ornamental grasses begin to color in burnished, autumn hues.

Most grasses are superb planted as a specimen, as the focal point in an island bed or as a flowing, four-season hedge with dramatic winter effect. A good collection of ornamental grasses will provide your garden with graceful form, texture and colors that change throughout the year.

The best way to display the full beauty of ornamental grasses is to make sure that the foliage is illuminated from the side or from behind with early morning or late afternoon sun. Then the depth of color will light the plant from within in an ever-changing kaleidoscope of rich, rose reds and tawny browns.

Once autumn sets in, Pennisetum orientale reaches up and out with feathery plumes of pale pink, displaying a rough of longer, purple hairs that glow in the light of the noonday sun. The arching plumes rise well above the light green foliage. Pennisetum alopecuroides “Hameln” sports the classic fountain shape of the species but in a smaller form. “Little Bunny” is a dwarf form, perfect for the smaller garden.

The group of ornamental grasses classified as Miscanthus is among the showiest. These are clump-forming plants that range in size from 14 feet tall to dwarf varieties measured in inches. One of the characteristics of silver grass are flower panicles that are held above the foliage and open as tassels, gradually expanding into silvery to pinkish-bronze plumes that last well into winter.

Miscanthus Giganteus, also called Giant Silver Grass, is one of the most impressive with self-supporting stems up to 2 inches thick, making it a good summer screen or hedge. Miscanthus sinensis “Silver Feather” is a German selection whose large, silver plumes are carried on 7-foot stems above handsomely striped foliage. With the sun behind them, they gleam like polished chrome through the winter months.

One of the most unique experiences in the garden is the sound of grasses. It’s one of my favorite secrets to share with a friend. Take the time to sit alone or with a silent friend and listen to the sound of grasses as they whisper in a gentle breeze or whistle and whip in the wind. Placement of ornamental grasses in a position where they catch the movement of air as it drifts through the garden is as important as planting to catch the light of day.

Other than the space it takes to grow them, the biggest problem with pumpkins and squash is that we always wish we had planted them when it’s too late. It’s fun to have an assortment of big, small, fat and tall jack-o-lanterns to greet visitors to your house on Halloween. Nothing sets the stage for the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday like a bountiful display of exotic squash and gourds. But who can even think of autumn holidays in May or June?

This is just one reason that the successful vegetable gardener keeps a journal or record of plantings from year to year. Like so much of gardening, you have to begin the process in a completely different season than the one in which you’ll reap the rewards. So make a note now, on next year’s late spring calendar. Write, “Plant a mix of short season pumpkin and squash seeds in a corner of the compost bin.” You’ll be glad you did come next October.


Robb Rosser is a WSU-certified master gardener. Reach him at Write2Robb@aol.com.

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