Article: How Shapely is your Landscape?

This article is copied here (from the Pioneer Press Newspaper) because the link will eventually be obsolete.  This article was written by a customer of mine who purchased some ornamental grasses in the fall of 1998 and then again in 2001.  His views of our little nursery is shared below.

Publication date:  08/16/2001

ED HUTCHISON / Contributing photographer

Now that plants are at the peak of the summer growing season, it's an excellent time to scope out shapes in your yard, your neighbors' and elsewhere.

Often our landscapes get goring because the shapes we have in them are boring.  How many landscapes in suburban Chicago have at least one pyramidal yew, one Christmas tree like Colorado blue spruce, one clump of white birch and one densely branching burning bush?  Look around; you'll find these shapes most anywhere.

There's nothing wrong with that, other than it is boring.

But the good thing is so many other shapes are available from plants that are often under-used.  Add in a variety of plants that have new-to-your-landscape shape, and you've made a big improvement for relatively little expense, time and effort.

Some things to consider are these:

ORNAMENTAL GRASSES -- Dozens of varieties are available, and these hardy perennials can provide several different shapes and masses to your garden.  There's small stuff, like blue fescue and much larger, like fountain grass and even larger, like hardy pampas grass.

Some grow upright, in almost column-like fashion.  Others grow in tidy, roundish clumps.  Yet others grow upright, then create a cascade effect.  Add in the plumes that appear in late summer and early fall, and you can gain some wonderful and new shapes from the use of ornamental grasses.

Most garden centers carry ornamental grasses, all potted up.  The selection is usually limited to less than 10.  The good thing about buying locally is that now you can get a goo0d sense of the variety's shape, blade color and overall habit.

But to really enjoy the broad selection of this class of plant, you need to go to specialty nurseries, move of which sell by mail or via the Internet.  The nursery I like best for ornamental grasses is in suburban Chicago.  It offers an outstanding and fairly priced selected of grasses and hostas, and I recommend it highly;  AAA Ornamentals, 8S953 Jericho Road, Big Rock, IL 60511.  It's web site is packed with useful information and links.

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