HARDY ORNAMENTAL GRASSES.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIV, Issue 225, 23 September 1933, Page 6 (Supplement)

HARDY ORNAMENTAL GRASSES.

These are useful and charming subjects for cultivation in the garden, and are indispensable for vase decoration and for bouquets. Tliey are effective if grown in a mixed border; soma look well in the rockery or among ferns, ana most, if cut on a dry day and kept in a cool place, will retain their brilliance and beauty for a long time. Many can be dyed to increase their lor planting they can be sown in August or September in the open border. Circlcs about six inches in diameter, can be sown, and when the seedlings appear they I should bo thinned out, and the thinnings can be planted elsewhere.

Height in Common , , .„ Name. inches. na"me. _ Soil. Remarks on Appealance, etc. Agrostis. 0-24 Cloud grass, Ordinary Pulchella, the dwarf Port. yirlds loose rtfr erarden. soil. panicles with stifi? branches, ncbu losa has panicles o£ light w.av.v brandies, and resembles, in bunches, a small cloud. Both are very effective in bouquets or in the border. Aira. 6-15 Hair grass. Moist garden Flexuosa has loose, open panicles of so jl waved brandies, and is a lo\ejy brown ; pulcliclla. very dwarf, delicate and graceful, "with thin stems and very small flowers. Both line for bouquets; the latter is very' pretty on the rockery, the former among ferns or among bushes. Avena 24-30 oit ens* Ordinary A tall, elegant plant; drooping panicles stertlis or soil. of large spikelets; flowers tinted, " with long awns. Looks best among tall plants: not often used for bouquets ; line for vases. Brlsa. 0-1S Quaking «£■», "S^MT^SSS S rass - ' which shake at the slightest touch ; globular beads of silver grey seeds, shining; sometimes purplish. Maxima, a larger variety, has panicles drooping at the end. Dried for vases or used with cut flowers, -loi* n-™,. Common soil ot unlike Brlza maxima. Drooping, i i , Brome • one-sided panicles of spikelets. liavbrizaexormi.. grass. j np , an appearance like cultivated * oats when green. Along with Aira pulchella it looks -well among ferns. i Can be dyed and kept in vases. _ . , „ „, _ dnnil rli>li Heavy, pearly grey seeds about the 18 -1 Job s tears. -S j zc 0 f . L cherry stone, hanging in lachryma. ; • clusters out of a kind of sheath. Unique appearance. . ,. , * i Anv soil Tin? variegata is the only form used; Dactylis li»-_4 Cocksfoot or y • very pretty for bedding purposes; 1 glonierata. gardeners forms sniail tufts and has beautiful garters. light silvery appearance. Should not be allowed to flower or seed to keep ii]) effect. Onlimrv Pi'etty garden plant useful for cutEragrostis 1---4 Love grass. o.. lr( iA„ KO ;i ling and effective in vases with cut elegans. „Jrileu soil. , flowPrg _ orrMrnrv All 1,10 types of this variety are Eulalle 4o-o0 Zebra grass. ' * striking foliage plaits, but zebrina, japonica. ' • with cross bars o£ yellow on the leaves, is the most unusual. Large panicles Sin to 12in long, and purplish. A variety can bo had with yellow mid-rib. T _ „ . ,, . Ordinary Fi "° for bouquets. Loose spikes of Hordeum 18-24 Squirrel's tail "5"., y yellowish green or silver grey soft Jubatum. or barley ou " hairs (as name). Looks well in grass. the border among annuals. Ordinary Bears heads which look like globular Lagnrus 12-18 Hare s tail ,, " tufts of silvery soft hairs; Jong, ovatus. grass. • Blender stems. In bouquets or dried for vases. leafv Man - V sorts used } n conservatory; I'anleum. IS-06 Paniek "• o ". rather neglected for border work. grass. sanuy son. Speetabile, a tall, green plant, virgatum, silvery green, and others useful in shrubberies or in woodland gardens. _ One of the finest and most graceful rcnnlsetum. 15-21 i„, %,„n grasses; bears large numbers of loose loamy holl. spikes like tufts of downy hairs, longer than the former. Longlstylura. the most beautiful and distinct. the long awns having a graceful appearance. Ruepellianum also very ornamental. nix IP„ T( „| 1 r>irh KO n Spikelets ovate in a dense cylindrical Setaria 0-15 Foxtail Rich sou. panicle; flowers shining and silky niacrochaeta. grass. j r) appearance. Very fine among low flowering plants or in loose bouquets. Stipa. 15-21 Feather Light garden Sow in February In heat, harden off, . r „„ nr o n |i and plant out at end of May. winced I'ennata bears feathery plumes. «niv» handsomo and ornamental; useful spiKC grass. for bouq „ otR _ Glgantea and elegantissima are the largest, and fine forvases. ITniola 30-40 Spike grass. Ordinary Spikelets oblong, hanging on long latifolia av -tv I t, pedicels; panicle loose; very pretty in open spares, where it can overtop surrounding shrubs. X'aniculata is larger still, v . , Zca. 20-00 Maize or Rich aril. Sow seed early in glass. The varieIndian Kata form most used in flower - corn. garden ; nn excellent foliage plant giving the border a tropical appearance. Quadricolour, a unique variety, has green leaves striped and 4 spotted with white, rose and yellow.