Total Landscape Care Digital Magazine
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/85696
foliage ramatic, hardy and easy to maintain, orna- mental grasses are showing up in new ways in the designs of landscape professionals. There's a bumper crop of new varieties from which to choose, and they're no longer being exiled to garden borders and corners. "If I had to choose only one type of plant for a garden, I would choose ornamental grasses. There are so many different varieties, colors and sizes," says Chad Beidel, owner of Outside Solutions in Sykesville, Maryland. "Plus, deer won't eat them." One of his favorites is Japanese Blood Grass, which multiplies on its own. Its red-tipped foliage provides great contrast to dark green shrubs like holly and cherry laurel, he says. He also likes Pink 22 TOTAL LANDSCAPE CARE / February 2012 Muhly Grass, which has feathery pink plumes that bloom in the fall and last well into the winter. FAVORITE USES The flow and movement of ornamental grasses create nice contrast to formal plants such as shaped and pruned boxwoods, says William Dickerson, owner of Dickerson Landscapes in Tallahassee, Florida. He also uses them on the edges of beds made up of perennial, flowering plants. Because they are inexpensive and grow quickly, Scott Price, owner of Snowknows in Charlottesville, Virginia, uses ornamental grasses as temporary placeholders to fill in gaps while an immature gar- den takes shape. But he also uses them prominently