Ornamental Grass

In my opinion, ornamental grasses are a must-have in every garden. In a gentle breeze, their foliage makes a soft, rustling sound - it is so calming and relaxing. They are hardy, drought-tolerant and have strong architectural shapes. Many are also very colourful.

The diversity of ornamental grasses on the market now provides so many possibilities for our gardens. When I started gardening many years ago, I recall only one readily available grass: Phalaris, commonly known as Gardeners Garters. In the spring it emerges with fresh green and white striped foliage, but by mid- to late-summer it appears tired. And, it has a well-deserved reputation for being invasive.

Most of the ornamental grasses available today are clump forming, so there is no fear that they will take over your garden.

Blue Oat Grass has spectacular silvery-blue foliage that grows into a spiky two-foot ball. The other attribute that I love about this grass is that it is one of the first grasses to emerge in the spring. Unlike other grasses, it does not have to be pruned in the spring; I simply comb by fingers through the foliage from base to tip to remove the old foliage.

The other group of grasses that I am particularly fond of is the Maiden Grasses. In general, they are all upright-arching in shape and by late summer they are adorned with silky, fluffy seed heads. Their stems are strong enough to withstand the wind and snow load of our winters, so they add a lot of interest to winter landscapes.

Birds in the Garden

When I moved into my new home two and a half years ago, the backyard was surrounded by evergreens and a huge expansive lawn. I thought it was a wasteland - no flowers, no shrubs, and very few birds. But, it had potential!

Today, I am sitting on a large deck at the back of the house,  surrounded by a bed full of perennials, flowering shrubs, and evergreens. And it overlooks a huge island bed filled with more of the same.

Over the years, the diversity of the plants has grown and evolved, and so have the birds. I can't believe the robins, gold finches, cardinals, hummingbirds, wood peckers, and cedar wax wings. However, there has been one bird I have been missing. They are feisty (at times, aggressive), have a perky tail and a sweet song: the house wren.

They have nested at every house I have lived in, but this house has no bird houses. So I put up a little house on a six foot post - faced the opening hole to the south east. I knew I was late in the season but  I did everything to the wrens' specifications. I sat back, waited and hoped that a couple would take up residence in my new birdhouse...

Sure enough, I was soon rewarded! My garden is now complete with these house wrens filling the air with their beautiful chorus of song. These little birds are a power house at cleaning up insects too.

Having a variety of birds nest and/or dine in my garden is one the many joys of gardening for me!