Magical Grasses!

They bring something that’s missing in many plantings – movement, sound and even humour.

A quarter of a century ago, very few gardeners, certainly in the UK, got excited by the prospect of including grasses in their planting. Nowadays, in many gardens including them is considered if not compulsory, then at least desirable.

Grasses bring qualities to a garden that no other plants can. So often plantings may seem perfectly conceived, with colour, form and texture working together harmoniously, nonetheless something is missing. Plant combinations can work perfectly, yet there’s something lacking – an element of movement or even a touch of humour.

Sound in a garden is seldom considered except perhaps for the inclusion of a water feature, yet plants themselves can bring sound to the garden, soft and swishing or wild and thrashing; the plants that excel at making music in the garden are grasses.

When they first became fashionable in the UK, even TV pundits seemed frightened about using them. Often they were herded together into a grass garden and often used in pots. In contrast, on the Continent they were lauded and incorporated into planting schemes, often playing the leading role.

Using grasses creatively on a smaller plot presents a greater challenge. They need to be chosen carefully but used audaciously. Grasses added randomly as contrast can look lost and incongruous.

At the other end of the scale, collections of larger grasses canend up like beds in a botanic garden. The trick is to integrate them to enhance other plants.