Our plant of the week this week, is a few different grasses. Here in Kilmurry, we love grasses for their form, shape, texture and movement it adds to the garden.
Some of the grasses we are going to take a look at are
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Molinia caerulea subsp. caerulea ‘Heidebraut’
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Calamagrostis emodensis
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Pennisetum macrourum ‘Tail Feathers’
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Deschampsia cespitosa ‘Bronze Veil’
Molinia caerulea subsp. caerulea ‘Heidebraut’ is a purple moor grass. It is a deciduous perennial grass, it also forms dense tussocks of narrow upright leaves, colouring in autumn. This Molinia flowers in late summer and throughout autumn. The beautiful airy, purple plumes are borne on purple-black stems and grows to around 1 to 1.2 metres in height. With age the stems turn orange/yellow colour. This grass likes full sun to partial shade and well-drained soil. Adds great winter texture and movement to the garden.
One of our favourite at the moment is Calamagrostis emodensis. This Calamagrostis flowers have a weeping habit. This grass looks stunning from summer all the way through the winter too. The graceful flower plumes have a hint of pink within the fluffy green/white flowers. This elegant grass is beautiful in the low evening sun. It is also lovely as prairie planting or on mass. This Calamagrostis is full hardy and likes full sun to partial shade, it also gets to about 90 to 110cm in height. A great addition to any garden.
Another unusual grass is Pennisetum macrourum ‘Tail Feathers’. This Chinese fountain grass is one of the easiest to grow, tufted forming grass that produces an abundance of long, bristle-like flowers in late summer. The flowers start off white and then turn a straw-like colour with age. This Pennisetum adds texture and colour in the winter. This grass likes full sun to partial shade and a well-drained soil, it also gets to about 60 to 70cm in height. Beautiful in the garden.
Our final grass is Deschampsia cespitosa ‘Bronze Veil’, also known as the hairgrass or bronzeschleier. This grass forms a low-mound of dark- green leaves, in mid-summer upright stems are produced bearing clouds of airy flowers in a bronzy-tint to it, then fades to beige with age. This grass also likes full sun to partial shade and normal to moist soil. The flower stems of this Deschampsia should be cut back in the winter. This grass gets to about 80 to 100cm in height. Beautiful in low autumn light.
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