Grasses

Grasses are all the rage at the moment and for good reason. It seems you can't pick up a gardening mag here in the UK without seeing something about the beauty of this large plant group. I'm no different from the majority of keen gardeners and love the sight of their arching grace. I too have been wowed by their collective beauty in garden shows like Chelsea on tv. I have also planted grasses like Stipa arundinacea and then spent successive years weeding out the thousands of new seedlings that appear rather too readily for my liking.

I disagree with those garden designers who advocate that they should be incorporated into garden borders. At least so far as I have witnessed, such designers suggest that any grass can add beauty to any garden border. True enough but it does not go far enough. Because I have never heard or read any advocate of grasses qualify their recommendation that many species have helped populate the great American plains, an area larger than Western Europe. And we are introducing them into suburbia? Kinda like the 'dwarf conifers' and 'clumping bamboo' we have all been recommended to buy in the past. . . . . .

Don't get me wrong. I love grasses. I have many varieties at Winsford and they DO look fabulous with their arching stems and colourful, feathery panicles. But NOT in the general borders. Don't go there - unless you are prepared for the consequences. This is just a warning to save you a lot of time and effort.

At Winsford we have created a single large border specifically dedicated to a wide range of different grasses which has proved remarkably beautiful and popular. Needless to say the tiny seedlings are appearing everywhere - where it doesn't matter and they can be collected up for subsequent sale or removed with a hoe when we are overwhelmed.

 Stipa grasses.