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 In This Issue
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Expand Your Palette
A landscape architect with a penchant for native plants gives us his grass picks.
The Latest at HNI
Grass displays for garden visitors, students explore the Nursery, and we celebrate despite the heat.
In the News
Sudden moments of subtle pleasure, quick advice, and a fuel for the future.
New Plants
A little Fountain Grass that grabs attention with a cute name and appealing habit. Try 'Piglet' on for size.
Comments
Our new catalog is on its way, summer shows wrap up, and customers continue their kudos.
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Browse our Current Availability
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| Expand Your Palette with Underused Grasses |
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Sorghastrum nutans at Southern Highland Reserve in western North Carolina
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Our series on underused grasses continues with suggestions from Jesse Turner, a Landscape Architect and Design Associate with the Natural Learning Initiative.
Jesse has a strong connection to Southeastern landscapes, and his choices reflect his love of the plants that grow there. Of course, like many of us, he's also got an exotic favorite or two.
Jesse's picks:
- Carex pensylvanica
- Acorus calamus
- Sorghastrum nutans
- Acorus gramineus 'Minimus Aureus'
- Sporobolus heterolepis
To see other lists in our underused grasses series, check out any of the March-June 2011 issues in our GrassSolutions™ archive.
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| The Latest at HNI | |
It's been a busy month around the Nursery. Lots of travel, visitors, and happenings.
Grasses in the Gardens
Each year, more than 300,000 people visit the Sarah P. Duke Gardens on Duke University's campus. This season, the gardens are featuring ornamental grasses in their container and terraced display gardens. Hoffman Nursery supplied grasses and sedges for the displays and helped select species to round out the season. The grasses are labeled so that visitors can find the answer to, "What's that fabulous plant?"
Here, we share a little grass love from the Page-Rollins White Garden, which has been recently renovated. Read more about the White Garden on this recent blog entry.
Getting Grasses to the Next Generation of Professionals
We had two student groups tour the Nursery this month. Horticulture students often don't get much exposure to ornamental grasses, but their instructors realize it's important to know about this group of fantastic plants. We're pleased they're coming to us to learn.
 Students from the Horticulture Technology Department at Alamance Community College got the Grand Tour from John Hoffman. Two students in the program, Drew Antley and Ryan Winkler, are working as interns at the Nursery this summer. Both are getting experience in Growing and Production, and Drew is spending one day a week in our Marketing Department. Expect to hear from him soon.- Summer Interns and Staff from the JC Raulston Arboretum at NC State also toured the Nursery. Jill Hoffman, Vice President, and Shannon Currey, Dir. of Sales & Marketing, showed them our facilities. They talked with the students about marketing, production planning, shipping, and growing. The students asked insightful questions and had a great time identifying grasses and other plants in our demonstration gardens.
Good Eats for the 4th
It's becoming a tradition--owners John & Jill Hoffman thank the entire Nursery for their hard work while we celebrate Independence Day together. The Friday before July 4th, everyone knocked off early to enjoy a scrumptious picnic spread. Sweet tea, BBQ, roasted veggies, delicious sides, and heavenly brownies rounded out the meal. Chef Joe and his crew even wore their tie-dyed Hoffman Nursery t-shirts.
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In the News
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It's an eclectic batch of articles this issue, but they all have a grass connection. Read further to hear what's happening with grasses.
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Elymus hystrix
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Subtlety Admired
The forest beauty of Elymus hystrix offers sudden moments of pleasure when its blooms appear in early summer. This article by Ken Moore, former Assistant Director of the North Carolina Botanical Garden, offers a lovely introduction.
Quick Advice
We always appreciate concise advice about ornamental grasses. This quick primer from nola.com is great for those not familiar with our favorite plants!
A Fuel of the Future
You probably know that perennial grasses are hot in the biofuel industry. Two recent findings suggest grasses will become even more important:
- A group of scientists have found a potentially cheaper and easier way to extract energy from grasses and other cellulosic biomass.
- In addition, researchers from the University of Illinois studied the effects of switching low-productivity land from corn to perennial grasses. Their findings show significant benefits, including more ethanol output per acre, better groundwater quality, and a reduction in emissions of carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide. Read more.
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Spotlight on New Plants for 2011
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- Small, neat habit (1.5' w/flower)
- Perfect for containers, patios, and small urban gardens
- Bottlebrush plumes in summer
- Full sun, and moist-average soil
- Zones 5-9
What's not to love about a grass named 'Piglet'? With its pleasing physique and cute bottlebrush plumes, this Fountain Grass radiates charisma. When considering its height, think of 'Piglet' as the middle sister to 'Little Bunny' and best-seller "Hameln'. This height difference gives 'Piglet' a slight advantage for containers, small patios and foreground plantings, although each of these lovely grasses deserves a place in the landscape.
'Piglet' originated from a seedling of 'Hameln' and was introduced by Brent Horvath of Intrinsic Perennial Gardens in Illinois. We think he picked a great name.
Call (800-203-8590) or email us for more information or to book your order.
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| Comments & Features |
Look for the New Catalog!
Our 2011-2011 catalog is hot off the press and in the mail. It may already have arrived at your place. If you are expecting a catalog and don't receive it in the next few weeks, call (800-203-8590) or email us. Some highlights:
- Updated and expanded GrassSolutions™ Indexes--functionality and aesthetics come together
- A quick guide to help choose the best Miscanthus or Panicum cultivar for the job
- GrassSolutions Plus™ plants--an expanded palette of uncommon grasses that we will grow upon request
Summer Shows
Our intrepid travelers have returned from the summer shows. There was a lot of excitement around OFA Short Course in early July. Our booth saw a steady stream of visitors, and John Hoffman gave a talk on growing and problem-solving with ornamental grasses. He then transitioned to the Perennial Plant Association Symposium in Atlanta, spending more than a week meeting, touring, and attending classes and lectures. The PPA has posted photos of exhibitor booths on their Facebook page if you'd like to take a look. John's dressed and ready for grass talk in his shot!
Continuing Kudos
Our customers give us marvelous feedback, and we're passing it along. We're proud of our staff and their role in delivering high-quality plants.
From one of our Canadian customers:
"The plants arrived and were in great condition. I would like to say that it is some of the best quality grasses I have seen in a very long time, and I will be calling you again for more stock in the future."
Upon receiving Acorus gramineus 'Ogon', a local landscaper had this to say:
"The Acorus looks great! Normally this time of year it gets good sunburn but these plants were in great condition."
One of our customers had plants damaged in shipping. We addressed the problem and sent replacements:
"The plants arrived in good shape and they are doing well. Thanks so much. We appreciate how quickly everything was handled."
If you have something to tell us, we'd like to hear it. Call us (800-203-8590), email your comments to GrassSolutions, or contact Magan or Brendan on our Sales Team.
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