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Video: The Use Of Ornamental Herbs In The Landscape
2024 Author: Sebastian Paterson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:47
Ornamental herbs have many positive qualities and were very popular in the last century. The family of these herbs is very extensive. Among them there are suitable for small groups of plants, for arranging the edges of the curb, for creating an earth carpet, monumental structures that are good for using them as a shield, screen or partition of individual parts of the site or as a central visual point.
Having different heights, ornamental grasses are also very varied in color. There is a blood-red grass (Red Baron), blue - blue oat grass (Helictotrichon) with pointed light leaves. The blue festuka is especially attractive for its evergreen bunch, while the silvery-blue foliage is the herb Miscanthus. It forms silvery or yellow stripes sequentially on the leaves. She amazes with her appearance, resembling a porcupine. Gold stripes run parallel across each narrow leaf of a blade of grass. Its flower sultans are also colorful - they range from red and pale pink to cream and pale beige.
Using herbs in the landscape
In the landscape, ornamental grasses add originality to any garden. Of course, in small areas, they are unlikely to find a place for themselves. But in large areas, you cannot do without them. Many herbs are almost constantly in motion. Their soft swaying in a gentle breeze adds dynamics to all elements of the garden. Since the leaves of the herbs lightly touch each other, they rustle, these sounds are pleasant to the ear, they calm the nerves. When illuminated from the side, ornamental grasses glow, striking with magical beauty.
Ornamental grasses have many uses in the garden landscape. For example, the giant reed grows excellently at the edges of pools, any bodies of water and rivers. The small mounds of festuca keep their shape well and grow to create charming ground carpets. These low ornamental grasses can be well adapted to many garden compositions. Many large grasses, such as miscanthus and the high flowering reed grass Calamagrostis, look much more dramatic in the large compositions of modern informal gardens. They are great for rustic homes and natural country gardens.
Miscanthus gracillumus and fountain grass pennisetum are good for year-round use. They begin development with fresh, green shoots and grow into arched masses. In summer, the tops of their lush flower sultans swing majestically. By cold weather, their grass becomes reddish-brown; it dies in late winter, making room for new plants in spring. And the whole cycle begins again.
Choose tall growing ornamental grass for an amazing eye point. For example, the pampas grass (Cortaderia), feathered with feather-light plumes among the jagged grassy foliage, rises high in late summer. Unfortunately, it grows well only south of the Leningrad region. This unpretentious herb grows successfully both on wet and dry, acidic and alkaline soils. It is tolerant to dry winds, coastal fogs and dampness. However, avoid planting it in coastal areas. There it grows and turns into untidy weed.
In the northern gardens, excellent varieties of miscanthus grass with silvery plumage - low and gigantic in size - and the raging grass Erianthus (Erianthus) are irreplaceable. You can use one of the herb varieties Pennisetum. Its pubescent inflorescence is very beautiful.
Some types of such herbs are successfully cultivated in the Leningrad region, but most varieties still prefer the south. They form a beautiful visual point in a flower bed with low-growing annuals. Their green leaves create an amazing contrast to the red flowers of the begonias, they are reflected in an original way in the reservoir.
Ornamental grasses are usually unpretentious and do not require special care. But in some problem areas of the garden, a little maintenance is still needed. Their plantings should be combined with other parts of the garden to create unexpected contrast in texture and color. They are grown at the edge of the reservoir, creating a gentle transition between land and water. Balls of blue fescue, gray fescue or silver-blue fescue adorn the shaded edge of the path. Tall grasses provide a magnificent backdrop to the perennial border.
Plant a collection of herbs in a separate, isolated bed to delight you with a wide variety of plants. Some grasses, such as miscanthus, tolerate the salty and moist soils prevailing in the coastal zone and create a dense screen there, helping to create a microclimate for other low-tolerant plants.
Trendy types of herbs
Find out at your local nursery, exhibition stands or fairs, or in the Botanical Gardens which ornamental herbs are suitable for your site. It must be remembered that some types of herbs are aggressive. For example, the penisetum is aggressive in hot and humid climates, and large dense reeds interfere with aquatic birds. The pampas grass grows rapidly invading adjacent areas. It is easier to make the right choice if you look somewhere in another garden, what these herbs will become in adulthood. There you also need to find out how they grew and were used in previous years, whether they look beautiful all year round, or they need to be removed for the winter.
Below, readers will find a small list of ornamental grasses that are recommended for the northern regions, including the Leningrad region.
Briza (shaker). Grain with tiled-two-row flowers in multi-colored drooping spikelets. The cultivars used in the gardens are Briza Maxim, Briza Minima and Briza Media. The grass blooms in July - August. Propagated by seeds in spring. Seedlings are thinned out at a distance of 15 cm from each other.
Hare tail. Annual cereal with spikelets collected in a dense, fluffy silvery-white panicle. Feather grass. Very ornamental grasses with fluffy silky-white hairs on long awns. The most interesting is a perennial species up to 80 cm high, forming dense grayish-green thickets. When the wind blows, these grasses sway in waves. Feather grass blooms in May - June. It reproduces by dividing in the spring and sowing seeds in June. In the first winter, leave seedlings covered with foil, and protect the rhizomes of adult plants with a layer of straw and foliage.
Miscanthus, mentioned above, has many varieties, which means that amateurs have a large selection. Plants are pruned in late autumn.
Fescue (fescue). Low grades are used to create high quality green carpets. Place decorative grasses with attractive blue foliage among flowers and shrubs in the border, and more compact ones on rock gardens to contrast with neighbors in shape and color.
Falaris. The grass has banded leaves with white stripes on a green background. Growing rapidly. Prune in early spring and summer to regain growth. Make sure that it does not invade neighboring landings.
Content of ornamental herbs
Ornamental herbs usually do not require much maintenance and are generally not susceptible to disease. If you plant them in a place that meets their growing requirements, they will reward you with near-permanent beauty. Like any newly planted plant, ornamental grasses in the first year of life must be provided with sufficient moisture. In the future, their need for water decreases. They also need a little fertilizing. Moreover, fertilizing with nitrogen fertilizers can slow down flowering and cause leaf growth. Composting will provide all the nutritional needs of the plant.
Care of most ornamental herbs depends on the conditions of the area where you live, as well as on the specifics of the grass. In most cases, the plants require pruning. Sometimes it is necessary to put in order a hedge, cut the sides of a large, overgrown flower bed with ornamental herbs. Trim the sides of the grass a few inches above the ground. Such pruning will not damage the crown, but will increase the attractiveness of the planting. Remove fading ornamental grasses as needed. If the ornamental grass in the flowerbed begins to wither, it should be planted. At the same time, for digging, use a sharp ax for chopping down the roots. In cold climates, remove the dark brown leaves in fall, although you can leave them in the winter and prune them very early in the spring.
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