seedling grasses
Use of beautiful ornamental grasses is a key ingredient in 'prairie gardening'.
But these grasses are slow to grow and even though we have bought a number of stock plants for division, we are miles and miles away from having half of what we'll need to fill the spaces in the new garden. And, as you have probably heard me tell before, no budget for landscaping.
So, in my usual quaint fashion, I saved five pence pieces in an empty Sol beer bottle until it was almost full, cashed them in at the Post Office and we had enough to order grass seeds!
And like incantations from Harry Potter we have ordered:
Andropogon gerardii £ 2.68
Deschampsia caespitosa £ 1.87
Melica altissima var. atropurpurea £ 2.58
Milium effusum aureum £ 2.25
Molinia caerulea ssp. arundinacea £ 2.58
Panicum virgatum £ 2.18
Luzula sylvatica £ 2.25
Sub Total: 7 Items £ 16.39
Postage £ 1.99
Total £ 18.38
And now, plastic modules enrobed in polythene bags adorn our little windowsills. And we have seedlings growing. Too soon to shout about it, because we've found grasses 'damp off' (wilt and die) easily.
But the starting gun has sounded and we are a step closer to our prairie gardening landscaping dream. Visitors to the RHS gardens at Wisley are greeted by the lovely grasses above. One day, at Cordwood too, perhaps?
But these grasses are slow to grow and even though we have bought a number of stock plants for division, we are miles and miles away from having half of what we'll need to fill the spaces in the new garden. And, as you have probably heard me tell before, no budget for landscaping.
So, in my usual quaint fashion, I saved five pence pieces in an empty Sol beer bottle until it was almost full, cashed them in at the Post Office and we had enough to order grass seeds!
And like incantations from Harry Potter we have ordered:
Andropogon gerardii £ 2.68
Deschampsia caespitosa £ 1.87
Melica altissima var. atropurpurea £ 2.58
Milium effusum aureum £ 2.25
Molinia caerulea ssp. arundinacea £ 2.58
Panicum virgatum £ 2.18
Luzula sylvatica £ 2.25
Sub Total: 7 Items £ 16.39
Postage £ 1.99
Total £ 18.38
And now, plastic modules enrobed in polythene bags adorn our little windowsills. And we have seedlings growing. Too soon to shout about it, because we've found grasses 'damp off' (wilt and die) easily.
But the starting gun has sounded and we are a step closer to our prairie gardening landscaping dream. Visitors to the RHS gardens at Wisley are greeted by the lovely grasses above. One day, at Cordwood too, perhaps?
