The Labyrinth Garden weaves perennials, including grasses and sedges, into a fascinating tapestry.

The Southeast brims with an impressive array of native plants, particularly in the Southern Appalachians. Southern Highlands Reserve (SHR) embraces this great diversity by preserving, cultivating, and displaying plants of the Southern Appalachian Highlands. John and Jill Hoffman visited this fantastic 120-acre private reserve in August, and they're still talking about it. The hospitality they received from SHR Director John Turner, as well as the incredible natural beauty, left a deep impression on them.

Carex laxiculmis 'Hobb' (Bunny Blue Sedge) contrasts beautifully with ferns at Southern Highland Reserve.

SHR is divided into two distinct areas, the Core Park and Natural Woodlands. The Core Park consists of cultivated gardens that display native species and cultivars. The Core Park is surrounded by 100 acres of natural woodlands that include waterfall and cliff communities. Sedges and native grasses look gorgeous in the plantings, as you can see here from John's photos.

The Reserve is open by invitation only, so check the website for more information on visiting. With plant fact sheets and ecology-related publications, the website is also a rich resource for information on the natural history of this unique region of the country.

Our Own Alternative Lawn

New garden at the Nursery includes lawn alternative areas with Bouteloua gracilis (foreground) and Sporobolus heterolepis (back left).

We've built our own display of lawn alternatives, starting with dense plantings of Bouteloua gracilis (8" on center) and Sporobolus heterolepis (12" on center). These areas are part of a larger garden that includes a bioretention area for runoff from our Production facility. It's very much a work in progress, but we've started putting in woody plants to create structure. These will be followed by ornamental grasses and companion perennials. We can't wait to see how this new space evolves.

Get Ready for IPPS
Members of the International Plant Propagators Society-Southern Region of North America (IPPS) will be visiting the Nursery on October 12. They're here for the Annual Meeting, which will be held in Raleigh, NC. As part of a tour day, they'll visit the Nursery, learn about what we're doing here, and have a tasty lunch. Dr. Joe Neal of NCSU's Dept. of Horticultural Science, will talk with attendees about his herbicide research at the Nursery and the IR-4 program. We wrote about his research in July GrassSolutions. Sarah Wong, graduate student in Entomology at NCSU, will join Joe and talk about her research on banker plants and beneficial insects. We reported to you on Sarah's project back in May. The agenda for the IPPS Annual Meeting looks tempting, and Hoffman Nursery folks will be taking advantage of the close proximity. There's still time to register!

The Grass Guy Speaks
We're also anticipating an appearance by John Hoffman at Hawksridge Farms in Hickory, NC. He'll be a featured speaker on September 30th as part of a two-day open house. John will talk about "Low-impact Gardening: Ornamental Grasses for Today's Garden." If you see him there, say hello.

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