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Showing posts with the label ornamental grasses

Compost Bin Fire - Dry Material Burned in Late Winter - February 2024

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I was feeling pretty good about my prescribed burning of tiny piles of leaves and some perennial litter from last season.  I posted the details of it yesterday .  Over the weekend, I went out and did a little bit more burning.  I used my small hand rake to pull together a pile of (mostly) oak leaves - creating a little burn break from other leaf litter - and use my small propane torch to light-it-up.   But, I think I got a little too cocky.  Burning and burning and burning.  And feeling good about returning the carbon to the soil via little ash piles.  All the while...cleaning up the beds a bit.  I was puttering around the beds making little piles and burning them.  They light up, then expire on their own when they exhaust all the material.  A little smoldering for a minute or two, then the piles of ash go dark.  And leave behind some white, burned out material.   I found myself back by the compost bins, where I recently filled-them-up with a bunch of ornamental grass cut-downs that I

Amending Compost Bins With Biosolids - February 2024

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Yesterday, I shared a round of photos showing the first (for this growing season) load of municipal biosolids that I added to our perennial garden beds as a topdressing .  The goal is to improve the soil and feed the trees and plants.   I also used these biosolids in a different spot:  as a compost bin amendment.   I've done this in the past - here's a post from March of 2023 - when I dumped some biosolids in as a sort-of accelerant/enhancement to my bins due to them being overloaded with 'browns'.  I thought the biosolids - full of Nitrogen - would help balance out the blend.   Right now, all three of our bins are F-U-L-L.  The clean-up that I did recently of all the ornamental grasses produced an enormous amount of material.  I posted some photos back a couple weeks .    For this round - I added a 5-gallon bucket (filled 2/3rds of the way) into my 'storage bin'.  The one with the "Feed Me" compost bin sign .    Below is a look at that mound of mater

Cleaning Up Front Porch Beds - Ornamental Grasses for Compost - February 2024

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A couple of days ago, I posted in my [compost bins] diary a look at the current state of my bins now that I've topped them off with a lot of ornamental grass material - reeds, canes and blades.  I tried to chop the material down into smaller segments in an attempt to break it up a bit and speed decomposition.    While I was cleaning up the grasses, I also went into the front porch bed and clipped off and cleaned up the front of the bed.  That included a number of Dusty Millers and all of the Seslaria Autumnalis (Autumn Moor Grass) .    Here, below, is a look at this bed after I trimmed up the Moor Grasses - but left behind some of the Fall leaf litter that has accumulated over Winter:  I also have three large Karl Foerster Feather Reed Grasses in the island bed between our driveway and front walk.  I pruned all of those ornamental grasses and cut them off an inch-or-two above their crown.  That island bed after the ornamental grasses have been cleaned up for Spring is below: I'

Adding Ornamental Grasses To Compost Bins - February 2024

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We had "false Spring" last week when the temperatures rose to the upper 40's and low 50's, so that (naturally) lead me to getting out in the garden to do a little bit of work.   I went with the whole "leave the leaves" thing last Fall.  Well...sort-of.  I cleaned up A LOT of leaves.  But, wasn't super picky about things and left some leaves whole.  And, blew some other leaves on the lawn, chopped them up with my mulching mower, and blew those chopped-up bits back onto the beds.   I also left ALL the standing material up all Winter.  That 'standing material' includes flower stalks and ornamental grasses.  Thanks to "Fall Dividing", we have ornamental grasses all over the place.  I've read a bunch of the posts/stories about the risks of doing a Spring Cleanup in the garden too soon; leading to some problems with nesting insects.  So, I opted - for now - to mostly leave the leaf litter in place.  But, I figured I should go at those gra

Ruby Muhly Grass - Muhlenbergia reverchonii 'Undaunted' - Three Planted By Boardwalk - October 2023

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Another day, another set of plants going in as part of my #FallPlanting sprint.  This time...featuring a set of ornamental grasses that I've seen other talk about:  Muhlenbergia reverchonii 'Undaunted' - or Ruby Muhly Grass.  At the top of this post is a look at one of the small quart-sized grasses that I brought home.  And below is a photo of the tag at The Growing Place - where they call this grass a "show stopper'.   Across Instagram, I've seen a few gardeners that I follow post photos of the plumes of these Muhly grasses - especially in the sunset.  At $5 a piece, the sale price had me trapped.   When I began to get them planted, I was struck by how dense and mature their root systems were - see below for what I'd consider a root-bound grass: I opted to put them right at the end of the current boardwalk - two in back, one out front to create a small grass colony.  See below for two photos:  one from the yard looking back at the boardwalk.  The other fro

Sesleria 'Greenlee' - 3 Greenlee Moor Grasses Planted in Front - October 2023

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Fall Planting 2023 will go down as a big moment in our garden.  That is...as long as everything that I'm putting in makes it through the Winter.  I'm getting to this stuff pretty late in the growing season, so I a little bit of hesitancy in proclaiming that all of these will make it.  Last year, with the huge mass of Autumn Ferns that I planted late and didn't come back have scarred me a bit .  That fear didn't stop me from adding three more new (to me) plants on the same trip to The Growing Place.  I was wandering around the grass area and came across these small quart-sized grasses you see above.  Short in nature.  Nice seed heads.  I pulled out the plant tag and see this below from Hocus Pocus Groundcovers:  Sesleria 'Greenlee Hybrid' - Greenlee's Moor Grass. Thanks to the Front Porch bed exploration from earlier this year , I was somewhat familar with some Seslerias and ended up buying and planting a number of Seslaria Autumnalis from Northwind .  They&

Totem Pole Ornamental Grass Update - September 2023

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In the Spring of 2021 (two growing seasons ago), I bought a singular (broke the rule of buying multiples), large-scale ornamental grass named Prairie Winds Totem Pole - Panicum virgatum .  Planted it on the edge of the front porch bed as a vertical accent.   What caught my attention at the Morton Sale?  The height of this grass being listed as 72" tall - 6 feet tall .    It came back in May of 2022 - and is a late starter every season.  A year after planting, the grass was still small , but by the end of the growing season, it was probably four-feet-tall or so.  And had some nice Winter Interest .   But, that front porch bed has changed quite a bit in the last year - the Norway Maple is gone.  Replaced by a smaller Triumph Elm.   That has opened up this bed to more light and reduced root competition.   And the results on this ornamental grass?  The tallest it has ever been - and close to the promised 6-foot-height when you count the seed heads.  See below for current view of thi

Elijah Blue Fescue Grasses - Ready To Divide - September 2023

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A couple of years ago, I planted some Elijah Blue Fescue grasses in the IB2DWs bed along with some other blue-colored plants like Cat's Pajamas Nepeta .   Those grasses have never thrived, but they seemed to have survived over the years - despite that being what I'd consider a 'hard-to-grow' area.  Between the poor soil, the adjacency to the driveway and the lack of irrigation, it isn't a great growing bed.  But, like I said...these seemingly have survived.   But, like all grasses, it appears that Elijah Blue Fescue grasses suffer from center rot.  And need to be divided every few years.  How can I tell?  Have a look at one of the crowns of the blue fescue grass below - with three distinct tufts of blades emerging from the edges: Here, below, is a look at another one of them where you can see the center of the grass is brown'ing out and showing no growth: Everything that I've read on the Web tells me that these need regular dividing and that I need to dig

Four Hakonechloa Macra (Green) Grasses Planted - July 2023

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My Hakonechloa Macra Forest Grass crush keeps growing.  It started with the All Golds that I bought at one of the Morton sales, but has morphed towards something else:  the 'straight' green versions that I find up at Northwind Perennial Farm in Wisconsin.  I planted three of them in a border last year and they've quickly outperformed the All Golds that are planted close-by .   One of the things that I observed in our backyard garden this Spring was the need to help 'hide' the dying foliage of the tulip bulbs that I have planted under the large tree-swing Oak tree.  I have some hostas and ferns in there, but they don't move fast-enough to help.  And, based on watching these Japanese Forest Grasses, I've discovered (this Spring) that the straight Green ones emerge must earlier than the All Golds.   So, on a trip up to Northwind, I put four of these in my wagon.   They look really great in the sun - see below: This area is what I'd call 'part shade'

Totem Pole Switch Grass Winter Interest - January 2023

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Planted in 2021, this will be the third growing season for a singular large-scale Switch Grass that is planted in our front porch bed: the Totem Pole Switch Grass .  I've been able to 'get to know' this grass a bit over the years and have discovered that it is late starte r - well after most grasses emerge for the year.  And that every year since planting, the grass has grown taller and taller .  On a recent warm(er) afternoon this past weekend, I wandered around the front beds to have a look at some plants and came across this grass.  And was struck by the seed heads.  And how it provides a really nice look in Winter.  See below for the current state of the Switch Grass: With the removal of the declining Norway Maple and the planting of the Triumph Elm, this front yard bed is one of my main/top priorities for 2023.  Do I leave this grass here?  Add more of them?  Time to make a plan. 

Rabbits Eating Karl Foerster Feather Reed Grasses - December 2022

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Two things might be true in our garden right now:  First...the chicken wire cages that I've made have protected quite a few of our shrubs.  And...second...the rabbits are still here and eating new things.  Including this Karl Foerster Feather Reed Grass in the photo below.  This is the only one of these that has been gnawed off near the ground by the dang! rabbits this season. Something to watch this Winter. I have mixed thoughts on this;  in terms of something that I don't mind sacrificing...these grassses would lead the list.  I was going to cut them off at the ground come Spring anyway.  So, having the rabbits graze on these do not really do any damage.  But...on the other hand....it means that they're still sticking around and not moving on to other yards where they can feast on unprotected plants.  

Mexican Feather Grass Still Green Post-First Frost - November 2022 - Zone 5b

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I planted an ornamental grass in one of our back patio containers this Summer and seems that I failed to document what the variety was/is when I installed the rest of the flowers.  Here's a link to a Summertime post showing the labels from a bunch of the plants in the containers, but it didn't include the ornamental grass in the center of the large, round ceramic container.  Based on poking around online, I'm *pretty sure* that it is a Mexican Feather Grass - Nassella .   I'm posting about it, not just to document it in the [garden diary], but rather because of the state it is currently in - post frost in late November.  See below for a photo of the container including this Mexican Feather Grass still showing a lot of green blades: Nassella Mexican Feather Grass is hardy down to just Zone 7 , so perhaps I'm wrong with the identification.  Listen...everything else.  Literally EVERYTHING ELSE in my garden (aside from the Autumn Ferns) have shriveled up and reacted to

Miscanthus sinensis 'Adagio' - Dwarf Maiden Grasses - November 2022

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This is just over the one-year mark for a trio of grasses that I planted in our backyard late last growing season .  They've been in the ground for 13 months now and are showing their annual seed heads.  These three Miscanthus sinensis 'Adagio' Maiden Grasses are tucked in behind the All Gold Japanese Forest Grasses and in front of the Little Lime Hydrangeas .   Have a look at the photo below to see the three grasses and their first-growing-season seed heads. This being the first full growing season, I'm thinking that these put down roots this year and will begin to fill-in next year with more foliage.  I put these in this spot to help create a bit of a 'layering' affect with the layers of grasses, shrubs and the Apple tree Belgian Fence in the far back.  Like I do with all of my ornamental grasses, I'll leave these Adagio Maiden Grasses up all Winter - for 'winter interest' and will chop them down early in the Spring/late Winter for the new years

Dividing Feather Reed Grasses - IB2DWs - October 2022

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Over the past few weeks, I've posted a couple of times about how I went about digging up, dividing and transplanting various mature perennials like hostas, ferns and even alliums .  At last count, I had created 32 new, 'free' plants this Fall through divisions .  #12 on my 2022 to-do list was to focus on adding plants through division .  I'd say that 32 count as completing the task.  But, there's another item on that same to-do list that I wanted to cover:  #4.  Enhance the In Between Two Driveways Strip .  The intersection of plant division and IB2DWs is how I went about trying to check both boxes.  Over the past few seasons, I've focused my Fall dividing on the various Karl Foerster Feather Reed Grasses around the front and backyard.  A few larger ones suffered from 'center rot' and NEEDED dividing, while others were just simply large enough to divide into new plants.   That's the plant - Karl Foerster Feather Reed Grass - that I divided and plante

Hakonechloa macra All Gold Grasses - Backyard - August 2022

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Yesterday, I posted a photo and an update on the line of three Hakonechloa Macra Hakone Japanese Forest Grasses that I have planted as a border under the tree swing Northern Red Oak tree in our backyard and remarked at how much size they had put on in just one year.   While I was over in that section of the garden, I grabbed a photo to document in the [ garden diary ] the current mid-Summer state of the stand of Hakonechloa macra All Gold Grasses that are planted right around 'the corner' from the other grasses. The last time that I posted a peek at these grasses was in this post about my Drumstick Allium .  But...the last time I posted the details of these grasses was just a week more than a year ago - August 2021 .   And... before that was when I planted three additional grasses in May of 2021 .   At that point, there were nine of these grasses planted in this slice of the garden.   By August, I had noted that there was one in decline and had eight remaining .  What do these

Hakonechloa Macra Hakone Grass - One Year Later - August 2022

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Right around Labor Day last year (2021), I planted a little cluster of three Hakonechloa Macra Hakone Grasses that I bought at Northwind in Wisconsin .  These were planted on the border of the north bed right around the Tree Swing Northern Red Oak tree.  They seemed to do fine during the Fall last year and then went dormant for the season.  This Spring, I marked their reemergence in May of this year and was happy to see them come back for their first true growing season in the garden.  What do they look like 11 months after their initial planting?  Here, below, is a photo showing how they've all put on size and are doing well in their spot.  The one furthest to the right is the smallest and is currently competing with a bunch of small Frances Williams hostas . I'm really liking these and think I can see even more of these repeated in a few spots.  They prefer shade, so I can't put them close to the house, but in the beds in the back, there's tons of room for a little p

Redrum Purple Fountain Grass - Patio Container - July 2022

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Last year, I planted a fountain grass in the big cast iron urn.  It was a Pennisetum - but named 'Fireworks '.  This year, I brought home another purple fountain grass and put it in a container.  Just...it was a different grass AND a different container.  The grass is Pennisetum setaceum 'Rubrum'.  See below for the nursery container.  And...importantly, you'll see that when it comes to hardiness, it goes down to *just* 30 degrees.  That means...for me (Zone 5b), this is an annual.   I decided to put this in - by itself - a white container that lives on our back stoop.  A full sun spot.  I planted it about three weeks ago. How is it doing?  Seems to be happy.  See below for a look at the first flower plume that has emerged from the crown.  Nice, gently arching stem that I hope more will follow.  

Totem Pole Switch Grass - June 2022

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Earlier this Spring, I was concerned about our lone Totem Pole Switch Grass because it didn't seem to show any growth.  Turns out, it is a slow-starter.  Here's a post from mid-May when it had just started to emerge for the first time about three or four weeks behind other ornamental grasses .  One month later, the grass is above my knees and is putting out some serious blades.  No seed tips (just yet), but plenty of greenish-blue ornamental grass blades.  See below for the current state: This is planted behind the troubled Norway Maple and seems to have figured out how to co-exist with some hard-to-grow conditions: a dense root mat from the Norway Maple tree + clay soil + hydrophobic mulch + quite a bit of sun + mostly drought(ish) conditions.   Last Summer this put out seeds head by August, but has YET to reach the claimed heights of six feet . 

Peak Karl Foerster Feather Reed Grasses - June 2022

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I know that Karl Foerster Feather Reed Grasses are very (as they say) basic.  You'll find them in plenty of landscapes around Northern Illinois.  But that's for good reason:  they are really strong performers.  Across multiple seasons.  They stay upright and proud to provide winter interest, but they also put on a show as they grow in early Summer.  In fact...I'd say that right now (mid-June) really *is* PEAK Karl Foerster grass season.  They've grown up for the season and have put out their flowers on the tips that are light green.  But, the blades of the grass - in particular their color - are the real stars of the show.   Here's a few looks at various Karl Foerster grasses around the yard right now below.  First, some of the grasses planted right off our patio.  These were planted last Fall and were divisions. Next up are the three that are in the mulch island between our front walk and our driveway.  These, too, were divided last year ( and this Spring ). Here,

Prairie Dropseed Planted IB2DWs - June 2022

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Yesterday, I showed the backyard location of one of our two Prairie Dropseed native grasses that we bought at the Morton Arboretum Annual Plant Sale.  Today, (below) is a photo of the location of the other one:  IB2DWs.  Prairie Dropseed - Sporobolus heterolepis - is a 'tough' native grass and ground cover.  That means that this planting works two-ways on my 2022 to-do list .  #4 on the list was to 'enhance the IB2DWs strip' and #5 was to 'fall in love with ground cover'.   This grass (planted as a single grass for now) is close to the driveway and the bluestone chip gravel path: A few things to note about the photo:  first...the seeds from trees (those yellow things) are flush this season.  Also, if you look closely at the area where the Prairie Dropseed was planted, you'll see A LOT of clay soil.  Related to that clay, if you look at the top left of the photo, you'll see the Chanticleer Pear tree that was replaced and is living in a clay bowl.  This