Although fashion trends seem to come & go at the drop of a hat, those in the garden seem to take a while longer to appear &, almost inevitably, stay to become classics..

Whether it is the herbaceous splendour of Gertrude Jeykell’s borders (Girl Power is nothing new in horticulture), or the geometric magnificence of the French Renaissance, all garden styles have their fans & their critics.The current favourite of the gardening cognoscenti is the use of that under-rated order Graminae, grasses to you & me. If the word grass conjures up the image of Flymos & fertilisers then you are missing out on some of the most surprising & impressive plants available to the keen horticulturist today. One of the best known of the architectural grasses is the pampas grass (Cortaderia sellolana). We are all familiar with the creamy plumes & razor leaves of this South American giant, but if you have less space available then search out the cultivar “Pumila” as it only reaches half the height of its’ two-metre cousin. In early spring do not try & cut these back by hand as you will almost certainly end up looking as if you have had an encounter with a particularly angry nest of wildcats. The trick is to pick a dryish day & set fire to it. This is the natural way that these fabulous plants regenerate in their homelands, but remember to protect any surrounding plants as the fire can be extremely hot though short-lived.
Many grasses are useful throughout the year as the cycle of the seasons takes them from young, fresh growth in spring, to large flower heads & dominating foliage in summer & early autumn, & finally to the decaying glory of their final flourish in winter before you cut them back for spring. The species Miscanthus sinensis has many cultivars that can provide this kind of all-year show. M. sinensis “Silver feather” is a beautiful example of this type, growing to two & a half metres, with arching leaves & open plumes. Smaller varieties include “Kliene Fortune” & “Yakushima Dwarf”. More colourful grasses include M. sinensis “Purpurascens” (Purple leaved), Carex comans Bronze form, & a smaller species Imperata cylindrica “Rubra”(Red).
Grasses come in many shapes & forms & can provide a good counter balance for the shrubs & bedding plants which many garden centres seen to think is all that we want in our gardens. Apart from the ones mentioned above, the following examples are all worthy of attention, as they all have their own talents. The Spanish reed (Arundo donax) is a huge plant, growing to three metres or more. It can dominate a small garden but is marvellous in a larger environment. If long & unpronounceable names make you nervous, don’t be put off by Molinia caerulea arundinacea “Transparent”. This small clump of undistinguished grass throws up tall elegant flower heads that give real depth to the border. Another name to get your tongue round is Spartina pectinata “Aureomarginata”. A green & yellow grass that seems to appreciate boggy conditions, & rewards you with bright foliage. As you may have guessed from the way that you already spend half your time pulling up grasses in your borders, some grasses are not to be encouraged. One to look out for is Elymus arenarius. This can only be described as a bully. It has no flowers, unattractive leaves, & spreads like wildfire. If you know why anyone would want this plant in their garden please let me know because I am at a loss.