SPLENDOUR IN THE GRASS
GRASSES CAN BE EASY TO MAINTAIN AND EXUDE A CONTEMPORARY APPEARANCE
THERE’S no such thing as a maintenance-free garden, but grasses and other strappy leafed plants like lilies could be regarded as the easiest to maintain; they are not so fussy about soil, can survive for lengthy periods without water, withstand extreme weather events of heat, flood, drought and wind and are salt tolerant.
No wonder modern landscape designers are using grasses, reeds and lilies in mass plantings.
Repetitive planting of one variety of plant, albeit in different foliage colours, can achieve a modern, architectural form that is easy to maintain and looks amazing.
The result is far from boring but it takes courage to throw out traditional garden styles and adopt a totally new look in garden design and implement it in your front yard.
Strappy leafed plants are not without a floral display or perfume. Many species have stunning flowers, others dark foliage and some have perfumed flowers.
Dietes bicolour displays erect stems of yellow flowers for most of the year – D. Grandiflora and the miniature D. Tiny Dancer have white and blue flowers; they are all prolific bloomers. The pale green strappy foliage is held upright and the plants benefit from cleaning out the old foliage once a year in late spring.
Crinum lilies are tough and can be used in a wide variety of landscape situations. They are salt tolerant when planted in ocean frontages and will handle areas that are seasonally swampy.
Crinum lilies are available with deep burgundy foliage, bearing pink flowers in two varieties.
The FNQ native species have strong green foliage with spidery white flowers.
Hymenocallis, spider lilies, bear white spiderlike flowers from summer into autumn. They form dense clumps and are ideal to plant in erosion-prone areas as their strong roots will quickly stabilise a site.
Lomandra is a mat rush with many varieties. L. Longifolia and L. Hystrix are native to FNQ, they are drought-tolerant and can be planted in mass to stabilise banks and creek edges. The spiky flowers are perfumed. Lomandra confertifolia, echidna grass and L. Verday have fine, spiky, narrow, dark green foliage that give this beautiful rush a tussocky appearance. It can be cut back to form a dome appearance or allowed to grow where the outer leaves will form a weeping habit.
Ophiopogon japonicus, mondo grass is available in a variety of forms. All can be cut back, if required, but it’s not necessary to do so. They will not show foliage discolouration unless they are affected by spray drift from weedicides, to which they are very sensitive. Very old plants will benefit from a hard prune in spring and a heavy application of fertiliser.
Mondo grass is a fast grower and once established will withstand drought or flood. It can be grown as a lawn but care must be taken to remove all weed and seed source before planting.
There are a number of different varieties, from the very small mini reaching 10cm high to the giant type which grows to 60cm, and there is also a variegated form.
Mondo grass is ideal for garden edging or to differentiate planting areas. The mini mondo is just the right size to grow between pavers and the black variety provides a stunning effect when mass planted; be mindful in summer, as it is not heat tolerant.
Dianella caerulea, the blue flax lily, is a native plant that produces masses of tiny blue flowers on a stalk that extends above its strappy green leaves. Each flower lasts only a day but the flowers continue to open over many weeks. Once pollinated, the flowers are followed by bright blue berries that are edible. The plant naturally grows in the understorey of melaleuca forests, however it will tolerate full sun. Dianellas are mostly herbicide resistant and are good to plant as a garden edge in areas that have a weed problem that is solved with spray.
For shady areas, chlorophytum capense is a small plant with strongly variegated leaves; it is ideal for mass planting in cool areas.
Chlorophytum comosum, the spider plant, will quickly cover an area with its spider-like offsets.
The green and white leaves stand out in mass plantings and need little care.
As we approach a new era in how we use water, strappy leafed plants provide a new dimension in modern, low-input gardening.