Favorite grasses and how to make them shine



Miscanthus species



The winter Solstice is fast approaching, but I want to linger in summer and fall seasons to give you a few more favorite plants. What a great extended fall season we just experienced; the warm temperatures enabled the ornamental grasses to really show off their plumes in the sun which arched lower and lower in the horizon each day. The strange place I noticed this most is in the parking lot of my grocery store. The late afternoon sun behind all the plumes of the switch grass planted along the edge of the bioswales (search that term for an interesting side trip in sustainable landscapes and rain gardens) always made me pause and enjoy the view. I don’t think I made excuses to go shopping more often, but I did find myself anticipating this view as I turned

into the parking area.

Many of the taller ornamental grasses like Heavy Metal Switch Grass (Panicum virgatum ‘Heavy Metal’) and Maiden Grass (Miscanthus sinensis ‘Gracillimus’) have wonderful plumes and blades become much more intense when the sun can provide a backdrop in the early morning or late afternoon. If ornamental grasses are to capture this dramatic sun light in your landscape, place them in a location where the sun will be “in back” of the grasses from a frequented viewing spot like a well used patio or breakfast nook windows. The sun will always provide that great light to the grasses, but the trick is to make sure the grasses are planted in a location that provides you with a view of the show.

Another way to heighten the presence of ornamental grasses is to plant them next to shrubs and perennials that possess brilliant fall color; this kind of grouping starts to create a fall landscape full of textures and colors that rivals the flowers of summer. Ornamental grasses also provide interest to the winter garden by adding upright structure, color and texture. In summer, they provide a lush green texture that compliments many types of plantings.

The two grasses mentioned above are easy to find, grow well here and were two I particularly enjoyed this past summer and fall, but there are many diverse ornamental grasses to consider.



Hanock Coralberry


Now that we are heading into winter, it's time to gather up some summer garden memories to sustain us through the cold months. As I work through the winter creating planting designs here are two shrubs that were wonderful throughout the summer that I’ll keep in mind.

I always appreciate the simple form of Hanock Coralberry (Symphoricarpis x chenault ‘Hancock’) shrubs when they're grown in a little shade; their mounding arching habit of blue green round leaves cascading over the edge of a path or lawn has a soft inviting touch. This plant doesn’t have large colorful blooms or brilliant fall color, but it provides a peaceful sense of green similar to what a lush thicket of bright green bamboo might evoke. The blooms are inconspicuous to us but the buzz of honeybees is strong when they bloom in June and adds a quiet humming sound to the garden. This shrub grows low, only two or three feet in height but can spread out over 6 feet. Given space to grow, it requires little pruning. Even planted in full sun and grown under thrifty watering conditions, it is a successful plant offering a large mass of arching stems and leaves with a natural look. Plant it in masses as a large groundcover or as a foreground to larger shrubs.



Gro-Lo Sumac

Gro-Low Sumac (Rhus aromatic ‘Gro-Low’) which is a shorter variety of Fragrant Sumac is another shrub I use often and continue to enjoy. Beyond the intense red and orange fall color, this plant offers an interesting texture because of its three-lobed leaf shape and stem structure. The small catkins that persist on the stems also add to this effect. This is another shrub that requires little care and is drought tolerant. Many times I’ll design with these shrubs forming a mass to help create a natural feel in the landscape. As a gardener I never mind wading through a mass of this Sumac, because brushing the leaves releases a strong sharp earthy fragrance that is as pleasant in the moment as it is easy to recall in the dead of winter.

In a gardening world of large garish blooms that seem to become more so with each new variety introduced, sometimes it can be the simple plants that enliven my senses, catch my attention and provide a sense of place and peace.

Sustainable water features and fountains?

Can a water feature be sustainable? Well… perhaps a better question is can fountains and water features be designed and built with a nod towards sustainability. Definitely.


Here are few good ideas to make your water feature be a little more “green” in nature. Location and size matter; with the proper site placement, you have an opportunity to reduce the size of your water feature and that means less water volume. A good start is to make sure the water feature is close to your outdoor living spaces and not on the opposite end of your garden. The more integrated your feature is to your outdoor and interior living spaces the larger its impact will be. Experiencing the feature’s sensory offerings like sound and movement becomes easier at close range, and this enables you to have a smaller feature that needs less water volume. Reducing the amount of water means less water will be needed to replenish the recycling water in your feature. A water feature that uses less water is better for our environment.

Even though a water feature relies on water being recycled over and over again, it is not a closed cycle. Evaporation and water splashing outside of the feature result in a large net loss of water which needs replacing. Features with large surface areas of water like large pools lose more water to evaporation. A water feature that does not have a standing pool is subject to less evaporation and will require less water to be replenished. Consider a water feature design that incorporates a reservoir that is hidden making it less susceptible to evaporation. A thoughtful design can create a water feature that minimizes the amount of water that splashes out of the system’s collection area. Both of these design ideas can make a water feature more ecologically friendly by using less water.

By paying attention to the design, location, and size of a water feature you can reduce how much water the feature will need and less is better in this instance.

As your design takes shape, explore opportunities to use recycled material in the construction. Perhaps you can find tile that is left over from another project, maybe you find used bricks offered on Craig’s List, or you do a little clandestine dumpster diving and end up with a unique container or pot that can be incorporated. The only limit is your own daring and imagination.

Are water features and fountains really sustainable? This is a question you should answer for yourself. Water features can add amazing benefits to a landscape, and I believe the presence of a water feature creates a stronger connection to the natural world; a connection that really can improve your quality of life. You must balance the benefits and the environmental costs for yourself, but you can design and construct a great water feature that reduces its impact on our environment and natural resources.

Sustainable Landscape Symposium in March

The Front Range Sustainable Landscaping Coalition's third annual symposium will be at the Denver Botanic Gardens on March 4th. This year's topic is soil as the foundation of sustainable landscapes; an array of speakers including a panel of local experts will delve into topics like why soil is vital to our landscapes, what is healthy soil, how to build healthy soil and even how we as landscapers and gardeners manage to exhaust and degrade our soils. The day long symposium features David Montgomery the nationally known author of "Dirt: The Erosion of Civilizations". He will show us why soil conservation is vital to our very existence and what role soils played in the downfall of the greatest civilizations in history.


Do not miss such an informative day. More details and registration information can be found at http://www.botanicgardens.org/ or call 720-865-3580.