Mike Palmer explains why he loves these glamorous, yet low-maintenance plants.
It is March and the anticipation of spring hangs heavily in the sweetly-scented air. Thankfully, there’s a healthy smattering of clear, blue-sky days ahead now, and you can almost hear the movement of perennials stirring beneath the cold soil as they awaken from their winter slumber.
The only remnants of last autumn in my own borders are the bleached, parchment-coloured stems of my beloved ornamental grasses, standing like sentinels over the emerging daffodils and fading snowdrops. The arrival of daffodils is a timely reminder, telling me to reach for my trusty, newly sharpened, secateurs and to fell the dishevelled remains of the grasses to the ground. It seems a savage act, but it’s really not, for now is just the very start of their 2024 story.
If you’re a regular reader of my column, you will already know that I have a passion for ornamental grasses; a passion that I promised to share with you all. So, being a man of my word, ladies and gentlemen, and for those of you who have yet to be introduced, please allow me to acquaint you with some of my favourite planting.
My love affair with this largely perpendicular plant family began many years ago during a visit to beautiful Knoll Gardens in Dorset, run by grass guru Neil Lucas. It was love at first sight. I fell head over heels with the many different forms and textures, their voluptuous, vertical accents within burgeoning borders, their colour and their beautifully breezy, open and ephemeral qualities. And as if that wasn’t enough, ornamental grasses are an easy to grow, low-maintenance option that fits perfectly into a range of different planting styles and designs.
So, if you’re not currently on-side with grasses, hopefully these pages will tempt you to give these ornamental beauties space in your borders in the weeks ahead.
Where to position grasses
Most grasses thrive in an open, sunny position with moisture-retentive, freedraining soil. However, as they come from a particularly versatile family of plants, some grasses, or sedges (which are grass-like plants), thrive in other positions, so check your garden’s conditions and each plant label before you buy.
Ornamental grasses come in a glorious array of heights, shapes, sizes and colours, adding elegance and pizzaz to our gardens. They can provide a stunning focal point in mixed borders, planted in decadent drifts for maximum impact, alongside shrubs and perennials, which for me, is where they come into their own - but more about that later. The delightful smaller grasses provide attractive, front-ofborder interest, while at the back of a border, taller, imposing specimens can be used to create towering drama.
How
