  GrassSolutions™
An e-newsletter from Hoffman Nursery, Inc.
April 2010 |
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Hello Friends,
| You may notice that we've changed our name to
GrassSolutions™. Grasses not only provide great aesthetics, they also solve problems. Everyone has vexing landscape issues, and we'll be talking solutions; thus
GrassSolutions™As always, we welcome your comments via email and hope you enjoy reading our latest edition. All the best, Hoffman Nursery |
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See our Go-To Grass discount! |
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| In this Issue |
How do you transform vacant city blocks into vibrant public places? Find out at Citygarden in St. Louis.
Grasses lend themselves to art in the new sculpture garden and expansion at the NC Museum of Art
Grass Forecast
Got a slope or dry shade that's making life difficult? Turn to these great grasses.
In the News
Putting plants to work, beneficial insects, and more.
New Plant Preview
John Hoffman discovered a great selection of Sugarcane Plumegrass growing in the fields near the Nursery. See why it it's worth keeping.
New catalog coming soon, website redesign, and Go-To Grass discount.
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| Logging on to Our Website | |
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| Finding Great Grasses: City Garden in St. Louis | 
The Midwest has long been a hotbed for ornamental grasses, and the grasses always look fantastic there. John Hoffman visited St. Louis last year and was deeply impressed by its
vibrancy and commitment to public spaces. Citygarden highlights this commitment perfectly. Framed by
office towers, two formerly vacant blocks have been transformed by a mix of lush, native plantings and
internationally renowned sculpture. We love how they've used switchgrass. Citygarden is featured on the cover of the April issue of Landscape Architecture. You can
view the digital version of the issue for a limited time (it
may take a minute or two to load). Take a few minutes to explore the Citygarden website. Even better, take a trip there and experience it for yourself.
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| The Latest at HNI |
Grasses
Make Art!Side view of new building at NCMA  | In our February issue, we told you a bit
about projects at the North Carolina Museum of Art. The Museum just
celebrated the opening of their fantastic new pavilion with a flurry of
gala events. We're pleased and proud not only to have a small part in
these projects, but also to see how beautifully they use grasses and
grasslike plants in the landscape. Read more.Red clover cover crop  |
Spring Gets Going
Couldn't resist showing you this lush field of red clover. Feeding the soil with cover crops and keeping our stock fields in great shape helps us grow better stock plants. Of course, that means better liners for our customers. Nice. For a look at cover crops on a horticultural scale, go to NC State's Cover Crops and Living Mulches for the South. For cooler climates, try Cornell's Cover Crop Guide. |
Grass Forecast: Two for Thought
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Eragrostis curvula  | What should you think about ordering now? Two grasses that will establish quickly and make themselves useful. Now is a great time to plant or pot up these warm season species. Lucky for you, we're running special discounts on both grasses right now. These discounts are time-limited, so you've got extra incentive to order them right away!
Eragrostis curvula
Most of us know the difficulties with establishing plantings on slopes, but we also know how important it is to minimize run-off and soil erosion. Grasses to the rescue! There are several choices, but one of our favorites is Eragrostis curvula.You may know it as Weeping Love Grass. The romantic name belies its toughness and resiliency. Quick to establish and re-seeding, it will tame the slope quickly and beautifully. It's airy flowers catch the morning sun and reflect the light beautifully. When the wind sweeps across the surface of a large planting, it speaks of the expansive plains of the past. Your slope will thank you.
Chasmanthium latifolium
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Chasmanthium latifolium
Looking out the window of our main office, one sees a whole lot of dry shade. Sweetgums dominate our shade garden area and make it difficult for other plants to find water and nutrients. What do we look to? Chasmanthium latifolium, of course. River Oats, although often found near river banks, can tolerate dry soils and still create a graceful, arching, tall ground cover. The dangling seed heads and gorgeous fall color make it shine ornamentally.
Lucky for you, we have current discounts on both grasses. If you're interested in these or in other discounted plants, please email or call (919-479-6620) our Sales Team.
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| In the News: Who's Talking Grass (and related topics) |
A quick look at some recent (and upcoming) articles of note: - Last issue, we highlighted several pieces on beneficial insects. NMPro just put out an article from the BugLady, Suzanne Wainwright-Evans, telling us where those insects come from.
- The April issue of American Nurseryman has an interesting article on putting plants to work for bioremediation (pp. 26-31). The authors believe these abilities can improve the plants' marketability. Look for grasses and sedges in their plant lists. In the same issue (p. 62) there's also a one-page "Field Notes" on Carex grayi, a plant that always gets a "What's that?!" If you're not a current subscriber to American Nurseryman, you can click on the preview button near the button of the pop-up window. This gives you limited access to articles. Or, sign up for non-subscriber access on the website.
- Keep an eye out for the May issue of Greenhouse Grower. Assistant Editor Pete Mihalek interviewed John Hoffman about ornamental grasses for their Variety Central section.
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| Spotlight on New Plants |
Saccharum
giganteum Red Mountain™ Selection
(Sugarcane Plumegrass)
Saccharum giganteum Red Mountain™ Selection  | Color: Green foliage Height: 2-3 ft., 6-7 ft. w/flower Flowers: Late summer-fall
Exposure: Full sun Moisture requirements: wet to moist
Zones: 6-8
Origin: North America
John Hoffman found this selection of sugarcane
plumegrass off Red Mountain Road in the northern Piedmont of North Carolina.
Its rosy panicles are showier and more deeply colored than other wild specimens
we've seen. Impressive and dramatic, Saccharum
giganteum makes its home in wet soils of bogs, swales, and swamps. Its
range extends from the eastern and southeastern US to Central America. It has a
slimmer habit and smaller size than the Asian S. arundinaceum or the Mediterranean S. ravennae. In the fall, the foliage transforms to yellows, reds,
or bronze-purples, depending on environmental conditions. It prefers full sun
and moist soil and does not tolerate drought and shade. This selection appears
to be smaller in stature than the species.
Call or email our Sales Team if you would like more information (or if you'd like to order plants!). |
| Comments & Features | | Our New Catalog Offers Solutions
We're working diligently on preparing our 2010-2011 catalog, and we think you're going to like it. We've made a few changes and added extra info to make it more useful. Our focus in this catalog is on the practicality of grasses and their ability to solve landscape problems. It should get you thinking about how you can use them to your advantage. Look for the new catalog in early to mid June.
HNI Website Going BIG!
Once our catalog has been finalized, our attention turns to redesigning our website. The plan is to make it more dynamic, more informative, more beautiful, and just plain useful. It might even take out the garbage (okay, not really). However, it will give you tons of useful information about growing, selecting, selling, and using grasses. You'll want to visit often. We'll let you know when it launches--in fact, you'll be the first to know.
If you have comments or suggestions that would help us in revising our website, we welcome them. Pass them on to
GrassSolutions™
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| Double your Discount with Go-To Grasses
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We continue with Go-To Grasses. It's a time-limited kind of deal, with a grass that's just right for the season. It will need to go out quickly, so we'll offer it at double the discount. To qualify, order must be placed by the deadline and shipment received within a month of order date.
We'll post the current Go-To Grass at this link. Our Sales Team has the scoop on this great promotion, so contact them for more info. | | Back to top |
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