Suggestions for ornamental grasses?

Watch Reply
More
Mark unread Print Skip to new
viqarqadir Treviso, Italy(Zone 9a) Nov 27, 2006

Inspired by the wonderful post below by Deviant Deziner, I have been thinking more and more about adding ornamental grasses to my border. The border is in full sun most of the day.

The border in question is framed by trelissed evergreen Clematis (armandii "Apple Blossom") on one side and the Rosa banksia lutea (yellow flowers) on the other side. This side is also interplanted with some large flowered clematis(pink, red and blue shades), lonicera and one Jasminum officinale.
In front of the climbers I have a mixed border composed of Rhododendron, Camellia, Paeonia. These are interplanted with Lilium, Tulip, Narcissus, Anemone coronaria and Irises. The beds are predominantly Pink, Yellow and Red apart from some bluish tulips.

There are about 4 "gaps" in the border where I wanted to plant evergreen bushes to make a contribution in autumn with their flowers but now I have second thoughts :) (thanks Deviant).

I am now looking for ornamental grasses that fulfil the following criteria (if one particular trait is extraordinary, I would be willing to give up some of the others):

The height needs to be between 60 and 200 cm
There should be flowers that persist into autumn or winter.
Sun loving is a must.
Should tolerate ordinary garden soil with a PH between 7-8.
Should go with the rhododendron (difficult requirement perhaps but the rhododendrons constitute the backbone for the bed)
Foliage should persist into late winter if possible (last year minimum was -14 centigrades...average minimum is -8 centigrades)
Should be sterile.
Should be able to tollerate maximum tempratures of 42-43 for a couple of weeks in summer.
Shape of the plant is important, globular is what I have in mind but I don't know anything about ornamental grasses.

This is it...do you think I'm in luck?

Thanks

Viqar

Post #2947042
Quote
This thread has 13 replies. This forum is accessible only to subscribing members of Dave's Garden. There are many free features here, and about half of our forums are completely open to all members. And learn more about Dave's Garden, and explore the benefits of becoming a subscribing member.

Want to join? Register here. Already signed up? Click here to login!

Back to Forum Homepage

More Garden Design Threads

Go to all Garden Design threads
BACK TO TOP