Tag: Switchgrass

Ignore the Flowers Day: September, 2016

For me, blooms make the garden. This attitude is considered unsophisticated by some, who say we must pay greater attention to more enduring plant features: foliage, texture, structure, yada yada. Grudgingly, I admit that there is something to what these people say, which is why on the 22nd of most months I participate in Ignore …

Tall Grass in August

It’s been a hot summer with plenty of rain. The ornamental grasses in our garden remain an almost luminous green, and most seem taller than usual.  

July Fruit’n’Foliage

Don’t you think Fruit’n’Foliage would make a good name for a breakfast cereal? It could be made with kale flakes and blueberries. Or not blueberries – too common. Kale flakes and açai berries! You heard it here first. But enough of that. Today I want to look at interesting things in the garden that aren’t …

Piet Oudolf Goes to Burger King

OK, maybe Piet Oudolf didn’t design the landscaping around my local Burger King.

Those Dazzling November Days

In the normal course of events, November is one of the two most dismal months of the year. At least, in my part of the world. An inky blackness falls by 5 PM, the leaves are dead, and a penetrating chill is in the air. (The other most dismal month is February.)

A Slow Fall

Autumn this year has not been very autumnal. From childhood I associate fall with a raw chill and leafy puddles. This year, however, has been unusually dry and warm, conditions associated with more modest seasonal color. There is still some color to be seen, though.

September Grasses

This September has been rather warm, with now and then more than a hint of summer. Leaves are still green on plants both woody and herbaceous. However, my attention is often seized by seedheads on the grasses. Of all the grasses of September, I think Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) is the most glorious. Judy took these pictures …

Foliage Day: July, 2015

I am a flower-centric gardener, and so it is useful to be reminded that a garden is about more than blooms. Which is exactly the service performed by Garden Bloggers’ Foliage Day, sponsored by Christina at My Hesperides Garden.  At this point in the summer the warm-season grasses start to assert their presence, especially the …

Switchgrass Switching Places, Again

And now for the saga of the nomadic Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum). Today I dug out a slice of turf along a corner of the Sidewalk Border in order to create a sunny spot for said switchgrass, which had already been moved once. Digging up grass is one of my favorite garden chores. I use an …

A Couple of Lessons That Took a Long Time to Learn But Now Seem Kind of Obvious

Beth over at Plant Postings hosts a meme called Lessons Learned, which is about pretty much what it sounds like. This is a good thing, as it’s extremely useful to compare notes with fellow gardeners. So I’m taking this opportunity to write about a couple of lessons I learned over the summer.   Lesson Number …