Category Archives: Design trends

Design trends

Grasses in the Garden

Pheasant Tail grass is carefree and long lived.

What was I thinking trying to talk a client out of adding grasses to her former lawn area? I gave her all the reasons she should focus on other low water use, low maintenance, deer resistant plants, but I can’t get the vision of grasses back lit in the evening light and swaying gently in the breeze out of my mind so she’s going to get her wish. There are so many that do well in our area to choose from. Here are just a few that are my favorites.

There’s an ornamental grass for every type of garden. Whether you are striving to create the perfect perennial border or have a hot dry slope, grasses can work in harmony wherever you place them. There are some that are made for the shade, some that are perfect additions to a small water feature and many that are invaluable in container gardening.

Grasses are distinguished from other plant families by their growth habit. They grow upward from the base of a leaf or shoot and can regrow from the crown when cut back. There are other grasslike plants that resemble grasses in their growth habits and are often some of the best companions for interplanting with grasses. These include New Zealand flax, carex family sedges, libertia, chondropetalum, kangaroo paw, lomandra, dianella, cordyline and liriope to name just a few.

Are sections of your garden hot and dry? Grasses are survivors and are good choices for sunny spots that get little irrigation. Good drainage is a must for these plants so amend the soil with plenty of organic matter before planting. Combine drought tolerant grasses like Mendocino Reed Grass (pennisetum foliosa) with companion plants and a few accent rocks to complete your dry theme. If you like blue foliage, try Elijah Blue fescue grass with Amazing Red flax for a show stopping combination.

If you are trying to create a focal point or destination in your garden and think the texture. light and movement of a grass would be perfect, look to the taller varieties. A personal favorite is Stipa gigantea or Giant Feather Grass. They take drought conditions once established but also will grow with regular garden watering. The beautiful flower spikes are good in dried arrangements. Giant Feather grass looks great with the purple flowers of penstemon ‘Midnight’.

There’s a reason old favorites like Karl Foerster Feather Reed Grass is so popular in landscapes. It doesn’t get too tall or overpowering in the smaller garden and its upright habit is neat and tidy. Outside my front door are several Overdam Feather Reed Grasses that are spectacular when backlit by late afternoon sun. What’s not to love about a stunning variegated grass with white and green stripes? Now in the summer, pink flower plumes sway above the foliage. iI the fall, the buff-colored flowers spikes will remain until I cut everything back to 6 inches just before new growth starts in winter.

Pheasant Tail grass is another popular grass that is carefree and long-lived. It grows to only 3 by 3 feet, is not fussy about soil and looks good anywhere you plant it. It combines beautifully with the sky blue flowers of Russian sage and is extremely drought tolerant once established.

Hakonechloa ‘All Gold’

Caring for grasses is easy. As a rule of thumb, if it browns in winter then cut it back before new growth starts. If it’s evergreen by nature just clean up outside leaves. Most like well drained soil and are tolerant of a wide range of garden conditions. You shouldn’t fertilize heavily because an excess of nitrogen can lead to lush, soft growth that tends to flop. Mulching with 2 inches of compost yearly will keep the soil and your plants in good shape. Water grasses regularly during their first year to help get a good root system established. Even grasses that are normally touted as drought-tolerant require a season or two to become fully established.

These are just a few of the places where grasses can enhance and add beauty to your garden.

Design trends

Ceanothus- The Most Valuable Plant

Ceanothus ‘Heart’s Desire

When the huge numbers of California Tortoiseshell butterflies showed up around here on June 10th, I learned a lot about the different species of ceanothus and how dependent we are on this plant. Because most of us live near or in a Wildland Urban interface we are aware of the benefits of ceanothus and other native plants. From erosion control to habitat, to seed and nectar for pollinators, birds and butterflies, ceanothus is a most valuable plant. A visit to any local nursery will tempt you to get one of each for your own garden. But are cultivars or “nativars” of ceanothus as valuable as native ceanothus?

Research is ongoing but there are only a few studies comparing the nutritional value of straight native species to culivars or nativars. Many may have as high en ecological value as native species but this is not absolute. Dark foliage, for instance, does not provided the nutritional value for leaf-eating larvae. There is so much that we need to study.

A cultivar of Carmel Creeper groundcover, Diamond Heights is good for erosion control.

The groundcover varieties I have used in landscape include Anchor Bay, Carmel Creeper, Heart’s Desire, Centennial and Diamond Heights. If deer frequent your landscape you should stick with Anchor Bay, Heart’s Desire and Centennial but the others are great in protected areas.

One of the upright types growing everywhere in the Santa Cruz Mountain is ceanothus thysiflorus. It’s one of the earliest native shrubs to bloom in our area. It grows along a narrow band close to the coast from Monterey to southern Oregon. There are many nativars of this variety. I like Julia Phelps with those electric blue flowers. It’s a hybrid of Wartleaf Ceanothus and Santa Barbara Ceanothus It’s similar in appliance to another popular nativar called ‘Dark Star’.

A great variety I often use when designing a garden is Ceanothus ‘Concha’ because it will accept summer water more forgivingly than most and tolerates clay soil more than other species. Joyce Coulter ceanothus also tolerates clay, summer irrigation and shearing better than other cultivars. It’s a good bloomer, drought tolerant and is covered in spring with wildly fragrant blue three-inch flower spikes.

Ceanothus is often said to be short lived. Most varieties need good drainage, little summer water and don’t need soil amendments. In their wild conditions ceanothus plants have a natural life cycle of 10-15 years although some live longer.

Several members of the ceanothus family can form a symbiotic relationship with soil micro-organisms and fungi, forming root nodules which fix nitrogen. This is a reason why fertilizing is not normally recommended. Adding fertilizer might kill off the good micro-organisms. Ceanothus are better left fending for themselves.

Carmel Creeper

Ceanothus provide excellent habitat for birds and insects. They are good for attracting bee and pollinators and are the larval host plants for the beautiful ceanothus silkmoth. Ceanothus seed is readily eaten by many local birds. Planting a ceanothus is an important step to attracting more birds and wildlife to your garden.

Early California Indians used the fresh or dried flowers of some varieties for washing, lathered into a soap. it has been said to relieve poison oak, eczema and rash.

Design trends

The Gardens of Poland

I couldn’t resist having my picture taken in this field of sunflowers in Poland.

I’m vacationing this week in Oregon visiting a my webmaster Evan in Eugene and also my friend Janie who lives in the historic mining town of Jacksonville near Ashland. We have taken several trips together including the Mayan ruins in Mexico and birding in Southeast Arizona. But the trip we both think might have been our favorite was the one we took to Eastern Poland. From kayaking and hiking to exploring forests, heritage sites, churches and especially the gardens of the people we met, we still talk about it when we get together. Here are some of the highlights of that trip.

The first thing you notice in Poland are the flowers. Although winters are harsh in this country spring starts suddenly in April after the snow melts. The climate in eastern Poland is influenced by the interior of the continent towards Russia and so receives summer rain. The wildflowers, vegetable gardens, perennial and annual flowers love the moisture and were in full bloom.

This part of Poland is protected from any industry. A primeval forest and several national parks are here. Agriculture makes up 50% of land use in this country. Even during the Communist control, a farmer was allowed to keep 3 hectares of land for himself. Land ownership provided some freedom and even to this day little land comes up for sale.

I couldn’t help but fall in love with the neat farm houses made of brick, local mutli-colored granite, wood or brightly painted stucco most with a red roof and surrounded by a flower garden, a vegetable garden and always a fence. I’ve never seem so many kinds of fencing- ornamental iron, willow branches woven together, fancy picket fences or concrete cast to look like wooden bed posts.

The sandy soil here was deposited by glaciers, the last one only 10,000 years ago and is rich with sediment and nutrients. Sunflowers grow tall between fields. Black-eyed Susan grow wild covering the hillsides with gold and every garden had hydrangea, petunia, geranium, yellow mullein, scabiosa, canna lily, dahlia, chicory, apple and plum trees, grapes, hollyhock, marigold and sweet peas. I was amazed at the number of annuals that were grown. Marigolds and petunias of all colors and styles are very popular and probably started from seed as I never saw a nursery of any type even in the outdoor markets. Tender perennials are overwintered inside or cuttings taken in the fall.

A typical vegetable garden had rows of cabbage, of course, as well as red beets, several types of potatoes, lettuce, carrots, onion, cauliflower, cucumbers and leeks. Tomatoes are very popular but grown in greenhouses. Even short season, cold tolerant tomato like Early Girl or Stupice are grown inside.

Red currants, blueberries, blackberries and raspberries are commonly grown. Fields of sunflowers surround farmhouses. Brightly colored bee hives find a home in many orchards. Pigs are kept in barns but dairy cows graze in the meadow. Geese, chickens and goats are common.

Poland has more than 3500 species of mushrooms and hunting for them is a traditional past time. I enjoyed many soups and other recipes made with wild mushrooms. Two million private farms grow most of the potatoes and rye for Europe and is one of the worlds largest producers of sugar beets. and triticale, a self-pollinating hybrid of wheat and rye, leading Poland to be called the future breadbasket of the European Union.

I’d love to go back to Poland. It’s a beautiful country rich in history and the gardens are spectacular.