why I love grasses


I love grasses because ...


... they sway gracefully in the breeze,


... they provide vertical contrast in the garden picture,


... when the light shines through, or onto the leaves, they make great photos,


... they come in all sizes, colours and shapes,


... they come in indigenous and exotic species,


... you don't have to mow them, and


...  they provide food, shelter and habitat for wildlife.


The main grasses I grow in my garden include Poa, Lomandra and Dianella species - all native to Australia, and Blue Fescue, a native of Southern France.


Comments

  1. I like ornamental grasses. You have nice varieties. I have the blue fescue. We have been having a lot of snow and a cold winter. I am anxious for Spring to see my flowers. Greetings, Thelma

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    1. It's so amazing how different our environments are. I look forward to finding out how your flowers survived the harsh winter.

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  2. I'm hoping to find some small restios for our new garden.
    There are plenty of generous species, used for thatching roofs - but the low growing ones are much harder to find in nurseries.

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    1. They're often not dramatic enough to be featured in regular nurseries. I didn't think to mention their uses, traditionally Aborigines used grasses to make baskets. Thanks for this, Diana.

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  3. Gosh, beautiful photos. I think I need to get my camera in front of some grasses more often! Thanks for sharing.

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    1. I'm so pleased you like the photos, I love photographing the garden but find it a huge challenge.

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  4. I am totally with you, looooove them. Looks like you have some great grasses.

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    1. thanks, Amy, I hope to get more varieties - indigenous ones.

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  5. Such lovely textures and soft colours. I don't have many grasses, (just weeds at the moment), but you've given me some ideas. Thank you so much for the great DVD, lots of inspiration there too!

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    1. Hi Carol, so pleased you enjoyed the DVD, and that I've given you some ideas. Good luck with getting rid of the weeds.

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  6. We have quite a few grasses here but not all like our heavy clay. You have such a good variety bringing colour, shape and texture to your garden.

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    1. I think I've seen some of the grasses in your wonderful garden when you feature foliage plants in your blog. Anyway, I'll take special notice from now on.

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  7. I also love them for many of the same reasons, and because they look great in the snowy landscape and are a great filler in vases...

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    1. they're so tough, they can be drought resistant here, and survive your snowy landscape. I'm a bit lazy about filling vases, and when I do I tend to forget about grasses, so thanks for reminding me, Donna.

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  8. I have to say that I was never big on grasses as a garden plant until I saw a lovely garden in the south of France with a lot of beautiful golden-yellow grass interspersed with other plants. I was hooked! I intend to introduce it to our garden now that we have returned to Melbourne. I agree with you that they do make great photos. They also make great wreathes!
    Bye for now,
    Kirk

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    1. Dear Kirk, Welcome back to Melbourne. Thanks for the comment, haven't read your blog for quite a while (and missed it), but I will remedy that situation very soon!

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  9. I had some blue fescue I grew from seed but it has disappeared among winter weeds. I particularly like to see muhly grass but I don't have any.

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    1. not familiar with muhly grass, need to look it up. I'm always impressed at your patience at growing things from seed.

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  10. I love grasses too. Also because they are drought resistant and easy to care for.

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    1. Their greenness would fit beautifully into your Japanese garden too, I think.

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  11. Grasses are beautiful for all the reasons you stated. In my warm, humid, often wet climate they can become invasive. Nevertheless, I am trying a couple of clumping ones. They are so lovely!

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    1. Hi Deb, they are all so different, I think it is a matter of finding which ones suit. Maybe you could find out which ones are indigenous to your area, then they wouldn't be invasive.

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  12. Thanks for the lovely appreciation. In my garden, on the opposite side of the globe from Australia, I've got lomandra and dianella as well. They're as beautiful as they are tough. What a terrific combination of attributes! But my latest favorite of all is our local native purple three-awn, Aristida purpurea. It has that delicate subtlety that so many grasses possess.

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    1. I wasn't familiar with this grass so googled it and found photos - very attractive. Delicate subtlety is a great description of so many grasses.

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