You can work wonders with ornamental grasses
Think grass and you immediately picture a lawn; the kind that takes up your precious leisure time of a weekend with its regular need for maintenance.
That with which we are most familiar is usually a working element in the garden employed to set off the rest of it.
The idea to allow strips of lawn to grow longer, creating a meadow effect, is attractive and lessens time spent with a lawnmower.
But even more gratifying and time effective is exploring the use of indigenous ornamental grasses instead.
You have probably passed by a number of types of indigenous grasses growing naturally along the roadside or in the veld. Take note of them when next you are travelling.
A new and popular way of gardening is using these grasses in informal or contemporary gardens where they are grown singly as part of a landscape, in a flower bed with flowering perennials (as in a wild garden), grown as tufts between pavers, as a ground cover or as a replacement for conventional lawns where they are left unmanicured.
With this there has been a change of focus.
Indigenous ornamental grasses are now seen as horticultural plants in their own right and are for sale singly on the nursery shelf.
They can be annuals or perennials, in the form of clumps or tufts. But those with running roots tend to become invasive.
They are versatile and suited to any garden style, fitting in harmoniously with these planting schemes.
Though hardy and water wise, they have a striking visual appeal.
When grasses are grown in the domestic garden, it makes one’s domestic space seem at one with nature as they respond quickly to the slightest breeze by rustling and waving their grassy foliage.
The importance of repetitive planting to create rhythm in a garden is a common principle, but one often forgotten.
Grasses achieve this work effortlessly with the bonus of adding texture. These textures vary thin, wiry, hair-like, smooth, furry, corrugated or curly.
There are at least 1,000 indigenous grass species in Southern Africa and many on sale to choose from depending on the “work” you want them to do.
Benefits
Apart from being low-maintenance, there are a host of other benefits to having indigenous ornamental grasses in the garden.
Hardy grasses such as restios and sedges are useful in the water-wise garden. Remember that bare soil is hot soil. Grasses easily cover up gaps and in the larger scheme of things prevent soil erosion and moisture evaporation and contribute to the ecology.
Another plus is that birds and butterflies as well as other insects will be regular visitors to a garden where indigenous grasses grow.
Butterflies need grasses as host plants for their larvae, while birds use leaf blades for nest building.
When the grasses go to seed, birds flock to the garden to feed.
Grass fronds provide an attractive contrast to other foliage.
They add colour, not only plain green, but varied stripy shades of green too, such as in zebra grass (Miscanthus sinensis “Zebrinus”), and in reds like those of the Japanese blood grass and Natal Red Top.
Care
Feed and water them regularly. Reshape those that have become scruffy by cutting them down to their stems at the end of winter.
Divide clumps just before the start of spring.
Pampas grass can become an invader. Remove the plants if you already have them in the garden.
Uses
Tall grasses can be used to screen off the garden from neighbours or to set a section of the garden apart.
They make simple yet effective pot subjects.
Grasses are attention-getting because of their unique shapes. They may be used to enhance, frame or soften the outlines of beds, accessories and boundaries.
If your property edges on the veld, outline the boundary with ornamental grasses so it blends the area naturally with the countryside beyond.
Grasses can be used to demarcate areas. Grown close together, they form an interesting edge to a garden bed.
They soften the look of hard landscaping. Grow them as a ground cover.
Some grasses don’t mind having “wet feet”, which makes them useful for growing in a wetland area.
Types of Grass
Weeping anthericum (Anthericum saundersiae) is an indigenous grass which grows to 35cm.
It is clump-forming with grass-like leaves producing umbels of white flowers from October to March.
It attracts insects and it is grown in a family garden with gaura (butterfly bush) and other flowering perennials and shrubs such as Westeringia to lovely effect.
It will grow in the sun or shade and reproduces itself readily. It is indigenous to the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and Swaziland.
Mondo grass (Ophiopogon species) is available with dark green, variegated green and white striped (O. jaburan “Vittatis”) or dark purple foliage (hardy Black mondo grass, O. planiscapus “Nigrescens”).
It is not indigenous but hails from Japan and China.
The species is tuft-forming, providing a grass-like ground cover. The dwarf Mondo grass (O. japonicus “Kyoto”) may be used as an edging along pathways or planted between pavers to break up the monotony and introduce a softer element to hard landscaping.
Basket grass (Cyperus textilis) has long green stems with a fountain of grass-like leaves at the top.
Suited to grow beside pools in wetland gardens where it keeps the water clear.
It can also be grown in containers. In nature it grows along the banks of streams, rivers and in marshes where it provides nesting for birds and offers shelter to fish.
Cotton wool grass (Imperata cylindrica) has reddish-yellow to red-brown leaves in winter.
It grows in wetlands and stream banks. It spreads rapidly with long rhizomes forming dense colonies which need to be contained. It is indigenous.
A garden cultivar, Japanese blood grass which grows to 40cm, has green and red foliage that becomes a deep red colour as it ages. It is hardy, clump-forming and enjoys a sunny spot. It is native to South East Asia.
There are other types of grasses suited to your needs which are sure to be available at your nursery.
In the Garden is written by feature writer, garden enthusiast and former teacher Julia Smith, who has returned home to live in Chintsa East. The column looks to inform both novice and accomplished gardeners on how to make the most of their green patches.