Why I Oughta...

I have a little cluster of Carex Montana that I planted in Summer of 2023 along the beginning of the impromptu flagstone path along the south entry of our house.  I picked them up at Northwind Perennial Farm and they were just plug-sized .  I put them in next to the Boxwoods that are under the Linden trees and allowed them to anchor the 'corner' of the path.   These things stood-out to me so much this season that I posted about them just a month-or-so ago when I said they were thriving in this deep-shade location .  In that post, I mentioned that I "should plant 12 more of these along the path".   With Fall Planting season here, I decided to try to divide some of these Carex Montanas to get a couple of free plants.  Like I've done with other divisions - when I haven't divided said plant before - I hedged and left one of the three intact.  I didn't touch the one in back.  But, I dug up and divided the other two - which were a little bit ...

Here's a shot that shows off a couple of Carex Montana that I really like - below.  These three are tucked in against an informal flagstone path on the southside of our house - right at the feet of the Greenspire Lindens that have been espaliered.  I planted these three in July of 2023 - 14 months ago.  And they've matured by growing significantly .   These live up close to a tall fence/set of trees, so they get VERY LITTLE direct sunlight.   Ignore the clover and weeds and extension cord.  Just focus on the foliage on these three groundcover plants.  I should plant 12 more along the path. 

I've been all-in on Team Carex thanks to Roy Diblik and his Northwind Perennial Farm up in Wisconsin.  He introduced me to sedges (Carex) and talked about how he uses them in his plantings.  Over the years, I've bought a number of different sedges from Northwind including: Bromoides and Little Midge , Albicans and Pensylvanica .   Now, I can add another one to the list:  Carex Montana.  The photo at the top of this post shows three Carex Montana plugs that I bought from Northwind last month and planned on planting by the Linden trees that are espaliered.   Below is the sign from Northwind that includes this description:   You've noticed the rich, soft green, beautiful foliage. Plant this in your shade garden and develop a ground layer of soft textures that will enliven your other plants and reduce weed seeds from germinating. Mix this Carex with other Carext to create a tapestry of colors and textures. Why not?? Haven't you wood chip...