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Thursday 5 March 2009

I'm on Fire for These Grasses !!!

Well ... here I am trying to do a SPEED post because we are so busy with the renovations .. having contractors in to measure and do estimates for us .. I feel dead tired and stressed even though we have been in the planning stages since mid winter with our ideas on updating our back "living" spaces .. anyone who knows me , knows that is sarcasm since I really hate the idea of making your garden an extended living room. Nope !! this is just new glass sliding doors, new deck and a fun fun new shed .. for you Brits that might read this .. it is a version of a grown up "Wendy House" ? LOL But on with some PLANTS !!!I made my order to Canning Perennials last night .. I think I have been stress eating and now stress plant fixes have found their way into my exhausted brain. But I love these grasses and it is getting VERY tricky finding them.First off .. these are NOT my pictures .. credit goes to who ever took them although it might be difficult finding the photographer because these are used on a lot of sites .. so stock pictures is the best way to describe them ?
I have been have a "MENTAL" here trying to do a quick post before I hit the ground running yet again today .. I am wearing to the quick, so please forgive the many mistakes I might be making here ?
I have beautiful pictures of my darling Karley Rose (pennisetum alopecuroids) but this one is a site picture taken off on the fly .. Karley is a wonder to me, and I absolutely LOVE her ! The zone was a touchy one because it is rated 6 in much of her descriptions but she has graced me in our back garden and I am going for gold to establish her in my front to show her off.
Now for a little guy I have been wanting since I stumbled on him last year .. one of the hakonechloa (macro) Beni-Kaze .. can you see why he has made me fall in love with him 'fall" is the trick word .. leading to Autumn and these FABULOUS colours he paints himself in !! His manner is very pleasing as well : ) I hope to have a long and happy relationship him : )

Panicum virgatum " Cheyenne Sky" .. what can I say ? .. an absolute beauty and I must have a chance to see how she does .. will she live up to my expectations ? will I be able to get through her growing pains until established (some what like Beni .. his larger unrelated sister who is also new my 'grass" family) ... will they whisper supportive rustles in the wind to each other ? .. good grief I hope so !!
What would a good Canadian garden be without some plant in it called "Northern Lights" (deschampsia caespitosa) quite a mouthful of descriptive words ?
I have been mooning (OK .. get your mind straight out of the gutter .. especially YOU Mr. WiseA** !!) I ran across this one a few years ago .. longed for it .. and now I am just determined it will be mine this year !
If you have spotted the connecting characteristic of all these grasses .. mention it if you are so kind to post ? .. I'm sure you all "get it" about me and a certain look to these beauties >
Wink Wink : )

16 comments:

Gail said...

Hi Joy, First here is a hug ((YOU))....Renovations...even ones we look forward to with delight are a pain in the patoot to go through! Brace yourself with good strong cups of tea/coffee and lots of high quality chocolate. Build into your budget a line item for rewards...and continue to buy fantastic grasses and other goodies. I do love all these quite colorful grasses. They have great personality... just like you!

gail

Anonymous said...

Hi Joy, many congrats on have workers there, hope it all goes splendidly! I have had failures with hakonechloas and Karley Rose. I pulled it out last year, for it will NOT stand up for me. That deschampsia is a dream though and I would love to try some. I had it in my other TN garden, as the only grass that would grow in shade but moved before really seeing what it would do there. So happy for you.
Frances

Anonymous said...

I look forward to seeing your super new Wendy House - though I don't envy you the stress of having builders in!
I do like your grasses especially colourful Brni-Kaze who looks so tidy and neat.

Rose said...

I can see why you would "fall" for all these beauties. I have yet to plant any grasses--I'm not sure how to incorporate them or which ones would behave the best in my garden. I'll just wait and see how yours do--maybe Halloween would be a good time to view them?:)

Brenda Pruitt said...

Jokes and nuances are often lost on me. I'm afraid it is a genetic defect, as my daughters also have it. My grasses died off last year, and I need to get more. So beautiful and natural additions to the garden.
Brenda

CiNdEe's GaRdEn said...

I have been wanting to do some grasses in my yard too. This may be the year(-: Beni is a cutie(-:

Anonymous said...

They are all lovely grasses, Joy, and should perform very well in your garden. Can't wait to see it when it's all finished. :)

WiseAcre said...

Yea go ahead and single me out as your favorite degenerate. I wasn't going to mention your full moon but now you can go sit on it.


the connecting characteristic of all these grasses?

good for making a witch's broom?

garden girl said...

They are great Joy! Love all the color in these grasses.

I'm on a mission to add some shade-loving grasses this spring.

Good luck with the renovations - looking forward to seeing everything when it's finished. I'm sure it will be worth the hassle. Hang in there!

Aiyana said...

Is it that you like color? All the grasses have a lovely color. I don't have a lot of grasses in my garden--just Purple Fountain Grass, but I did see some Blue Fescue this weekend that I really wanted, but it had to have shade, and I have no shade space left unplanted. It would have looked lovely planted en masse.
Aiyana

CanadianGardenJoy said...

Thank you Gail (my head is spinning from more information on this reno project .. I don't think it was meant to hold THAT much !!haha) .. I know some people must think others who suffer from a "grass" addiction .. (now how much fun could be made of that I ask you ?)are a little strange .. but they do have personalities .. just as much as any other plant favorite .. in fact they are beautiful rebels in my mind .. now consider the source of that statement ? haha

Frances .. Thank you ! Have you seen my pictures of my own Karley Rose ? .. in the post about arbors and grapes you can see it .. there is a "must have" secret to having Karley upright and beautiful .. you must have an obelisk centered in her then wind green plastic coated wire around her and the obelisk .. THEN .. you have a beautiful upright grass that looks like it is standing on its own !! so you see, it is possible if you want it bad enough ! : )

Hello there EG ! .. I knew you would get it with the "Wendy House" .. it makes me smile thinking about it .. now if only all of the construction would go smoothly ? I can't wait .. and having special grasses coming is like Christmas to me .. so yes ! pictures will be a must for you to see how things are going !

Rose, girl you made me laugh just now .. mentioning Halloween is such a "treat' for me, thank you ! But yes .. if my grasses settle in and have time to adjust .. they just might look amazing in the Autumn : ) .. I know you will stay tuned for it girl ! LOL

Brenda .. keep trying with the grasses .. once you get some little beauties going you will become addicted to them ! .. they really do add another element to your garden that is hard to explain .. maybe a bit of wildness ? they just look GREAT !

Cindee .. you have to have some grasses girl ! One of the easiest was Karl, http://www.bluestem.ca/calamagrostis-karl-foerster.htm
have a look at the description .. it is "bang for the buck" with this one an upright beauty for vertical interest and so pretty during the Autumn and winter as well !

Nancy .. you and me girl ! I can't wait to see the new construction started and finished and then I can concentrate on my garden and changing it to look my natural with no wooden ties ? .. so much work .. I tend to overwhelm myself but I have big hopes ! : )

Dear Mr. WiseA** .. of course you ARE my favorite degenerate ! who else could fence with me the way you do ? rusty swords at 3 paces and away we go ! .. wait a minute .. witch's broom ? .. I think I need something a little more stable for that .. something with substance beyond your hot air ?.. although that does make for a good updraft .. hehehe
Halloween is only 240 days away : )

Thanks Linda .. I know it will all be worth it, but yes ! the hassle and stress you go through is amazing .. no matter how many times we go through renos it still whips us .. I will be doing pictures of before and after for sure ! and thanks .. I'm hoping these grasses do add that extra punch to the garden : )

Aiyana YES ! colour .. especially for Autumn : ) I understand you must have such limited shade space .. and yes ! Blue Fescue en masse .. I have seen pictures in that style and it is gorgeous .. I have 3 of them but as specimen individuals and they do have appeal : )

Cosmo said...

Joy--I love your grasses. I have very few and want to try more--our climate's a little different, but I'm going to look into some of yours because they're gorgeous! The only renovation we've done is the addition of a screened-in porch--all outside--but it was SUCH a pain--I admire your presence of mind.

Tessa said...

Better late than never! Me likes the second pic- just beautiful!

CanadianGardenJoy said...

Cosmo .. a screened in porch sounds lovely ! you can enjoy the evening without those nasty bugs at you : )
Yes .. renovations, we have never had one yet that doesn't have problems .. but after they are done we really enjoy them and surviving them hopefully ? LOL
Try some grasses Cosmos ! You will like them : )

Hey Tessa .. do you come out of your greenhouse at all lately girl ? LOL
Yes ! I can't wait to see what these guys will do this year .. I think they get shipped late next month .. Yahoooooooooooo !! haha

Vylat said...

Hi, dropping by from Crafty Linda's blog. I like you also welcome the little critters in winter and set out a dish of water for them. It freezes and thaws. Had a rabbit visiting my birdfeeder, actually eating the sunflower seeds on the ground. Like your idea, the ferns. They look nice when combined with Hostas.
Enjoy your spring!

CanadianGardenJoy said...

Hi PlantBuddy : )
Thank you ! .. I never mind the little critters finding a bit of refuge in my garden .. I have a lot of natives here they like to snack on .. this has been one long winter, I'll be so glad to get rid of the snow and ice ! thanks for stopping by : )