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Posted, A Short Garden Tip Video

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Mini-tutorial when you only have a minute

On Care Of Ornamental Grass

I wanted to add to the videos made for Ilona’s Garden Youtube channel. I like short tips videos, so I made one while showing my son how to cut down the leftovers from last season. I have so many chores that I am delegating some of the ones that don’t need any expertise.
This is one of those easy tasks, just point and cut with hedge shears. Yet, if you don’t garden, it might not seem so easy to you, so I took the opportunity to make a video.

I need the practice making video and my son needs the instruction. Next I’m going to divide those oversized clumps. I certainly will need help doing that!

Grasses Are No Longer Nouveau

Whatever your opinion of them, grasses are a big part of landscaping nowadays.  As the love for lawns is waning among designers and garden mavens, ornamental grasses are establishing their place as important plants in designing a landscape.

I was slow to warm up to the use of these plants, partly due to the fact that my prairie plot grew grass like weeds. Literally, grasses were my worst and most persistent weeds in the garden beds.  Still, as I became more interested in the designs in a New American style, the type by Piet Oudolf and Oehme van Sweden, it was only a matter of time before I ventured outside of my perennial comfort zone.

Having opinions on how they look best, while not quite up to the learning curve in getting the look I want, it was the graceful Miscanthus sinensis that caught my eye. I did make some mistakes with it. The plants looked puny and I didn’t look up the space requirements. Now it needs some dividing and moving to give it the space it needs.

I still think that grasses should have thoughtful placing, and see too many examples that look awkward.
That needs a bit of thought and maybe some photos for a future post.

As always, feel free to comment on the videos. I know I’m not the best looking chick on the garden blogging block, but I hope you enjoy the videos from “the little old lady next door”.

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© 2013 written for Ilona’s Garden Journal by Ilona E. An excellent blog.

About Ilona Erwin

I was a garden blog pioneer, and began writing on this blog in 2003. Before that I had begun a garden website that has been at its own domain since 2006, Ilona's Garden.

I still love writing, gardening, and art after all these years, although travel and grandchildren have become a big part of my life, now.

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Comments

  1. Jean Campbell says

    Love visiting with you via your videos. I too, came to grasses with hesitancy because of invasiveness in this part of the country.

    Some ornamental grasses here take well to burning rather than shearing. Gulf Muhly is one.

  2. Ilona Erwin says

    Thanks so much for your comment! I was leery that I wasn’t ready for prime time, but decided to give video a try- thanks for the encouragement.

    I might go the “burning” route next year, though with the high winds that regularly kick up here, I would need ideal conditions.

    Thanks for your input, many do seem to use controlled burning and it certainly would save some wear, tear and effort! I find that shearing is hard work when you have many big clumps.