Blades of glory
Ornamental grasses can look magical in a winter garden
Many gardeners chop back the plants in their beds and borders as soon as they start to look tatty in October or November. However, there is much to be gained from leaving the top growth alone until now.
Birds will take what sustenance they can from seed heads and will enjoy the protection from the weather that the dry foliage provides.
Insects, which the birds will enjoy feasting on when food supplies are short, will also find shelter in the foliage that would be absent were a tidy gardener to shear it to the ground in autumn.
This is especially true of ornamental grasses, which are almost as decorative when their leaves and stems have turned to straw, particularly when they are rimed with frost.
But the time has come when any remaining herbaceous perennial foliage, and even the ornamental grasses, need to be attended to, simply to make way for new growth, which will start pushing through the earth over the next few weeks once the weather begins to warm up.
I love ornamental grasses. They act as glue in my beds and borders, linking disparate groups of plants whose flower colour, if they were positioned side by side, would make for an unwelcome combination.
But my best use of them is in a narrow border at the top of a brick wall.
The strip of earth is barely 18in wide, but the grasses, planted side by side, make a feathery ribbon that lasts right the way through the winter, squirting over the wall like a fountain.
At this time of year I take the shears to all of them, except those that are clearly evergreen and still showing signs of life.
Now’s the time to cut back your grasses ready for new growth
These can be divided up in a few weeks’ time and planted out again to give them room to grow more lavishly.
The problem with ornamental grasses is they have complicated names.
I’d suggest simply that you take a look in the ornamental grasses section at your local nursery or garden centre and plant any that catch your eye – they vary in height, so read the description on the label before you buy.
Be wary, too, of introducing rampant species such as lyme grass (Leymus arenarius) and gardener’s garters (Phalaris arundinacea ‘Picta’) unless you have a lot of ground you want covered. They are so vigorous as to creep into even the most regularly mown lawn.
If you love them, and they are beautiful, restrict their spread at the outset by sinking a vertical barrier, such as old roof slates, into the ground alongside them.
Do your research now and in late March and early April you can start adding this useful group of plants to your garden.