|
|
|
For archived editions, click here.
|
HNI Website
Username: great
Password: grass
|
|
|
|
 In This Issue
|
The Latest at HNI
Green Roof Guru makes a stop at Hoffman Nursery, we dig into an outdoor classroom, and graduate students explore grass potential for bioenergy and rain gardens.
GrassSolutions™ Focus
Expand your palette this season with grasses and sedges for groundcovers.
New Plant Profile
A new sedge shines in the landscape. If you like Carex oshimensis 'Evergold', you're gonna' love this one!
In the News
Fifteen ways to use grasses, what grasses do for a design, a an award-winning landscape features Feather Reed Grass, and a no-mow lawn for shade.
Comments & Features
Help the IR-4 project continue bringing valuable pest protection to the industry, a different take on bad news, and a breath-taking film about the Lurie Garden.
|
| |
Browse our Current Availability
To sign up for periodic availability emails or adjust your email preferences, click here.
|
|
|
|
| The Latest at HNI | |
Visiting with the Green Roof Guru
 | |
John Hoffman (L) gives Ed Snodgrass the tour.
|
Ed Snodgrass stopped by the nursery a while back to get a tour and talk with us about his work. Ed owns Emory Knoll Farms, the first nursery in the country to focus on green roof plants. Ed is an expert on green roof plants and a passionate advocate for sustainability. He has co-authored several books and is spreading the word to diverse audiences across the country.
Ed was in Durham recently to talk with city staff about new stormwater regulations. From Ed's perspective, using hardscape to manage stormwater runoff will never be enough to keep up with the pace of development. He believes that plants and landscaping will become the management tool of choice. We talked with Ed about his green roof work and the role of grasses in sustainable landscapes. We're currently growing grasses for several green roof projects, so it was great to hear from Ed.
 See you in the Garden!
Bringing children outside has all kinds of benefits, but having an appealing space for them isn't always easy--especially with limited funding and busy staff. When their children were at Mangum Elementary school, John and Jill Hoffman started a school garden as an outdoor classroom. Since then, the Hoffman children have moved on to college (and an upcoming graduation), and the garden has been through ups and downs.
Recently, our Shipping Manager, Scott Stirrup, and his wife, Samantha Gasson, have worked to update the space and involve the children more. Sam has started doing workshops in the garden and teaching the kids about growing their own food. In addition, she has enlisted the help of Hoffman Nursery in revamping a neglected raised border in the garden. We'll design the 160-foot bed and provide plants. Because the children won't be around during summer, planting choices will lean toward those with interest in spring, winter, and fall. We'll keep you updated on where the garden goes.
Research Connections with Students
Our ties with NC State University run deep and are very important to us. We see their work as an investment in the future of horticulture. Nowhere is this more obvious than in working with students. We've told you about some of these projects in the past, but here are updates on a few newer ones.
 | |
Test plots for bioenergy grass evaluation
|
Bioenergy Grasses
Perennial grasses are a hot topic in the bioenergy world, and Horticultural Science Masters student Irene Palmer is helping determine their suitability for bioenergy production. In a recently presented study, Irene compared the biomass yield and nitrogen response of selections of Panicum, Arundo, Miscanthus, and Saccharum. Each of these genera have been employed for bioenergy purposes, but little is know about their regional adaptability. Her results suggest that certain taxa of Miscanthus, Panicum virgatum, Saccharum arundinaceum, and Arundo donax are promising for locations in North Carolina and other similar regions. Furthermore, the grasses are able to produce enough dry matter to meet national standards, making them good candidates for bioenergy applications. At the Southern Nursery Association's 57th Annual Research Conference, Irene's research won First Place at the Masters Level. Congratulations to Irene!
 | |
Rain garden researchers Rebecca Pledger (L) and Liz Riley (R) at Hoffman Nursery picking up plants for Rebecca's project. Fellow graduate student Alicain Carlson (M) came with them to see the nursery.
|
Rain Gardens
One of the other hot applications for grasses is in rain gardens and bioretention projects. Two graduate students in Horticultural Science are trying to get a better understanding of what works best. We've provided the grasses for these projects because we think they're worth pursuing.
Rebecca Pledger will be looking at a second season of growth this year in her rain garden plots. She is examining the efficacy of rain gardens in cleaning stormwater runoff. While using best management practices, she'll analyze plant diversity and three different filter bed substrates. Her research should give us insight into how the plants sequester polluted water and how different substrates can affect pollutant removal. Rebecca also won a Student Research Award at the SNA Research Conference. Congrats to Rebecca!
Liz Riley is just getting started this spring, and we'll be providing the grasses for her project. She'll be looking at different substrates and organic amendments for use in rain garden filter beds. Her work will also examine herbaceous perennial nutritional requirements. Some of her group's preliminary research indicates that annuals and woodies have vastly different N:P:K requirements when compared to perennials.
We're looking forward to seeing the results of these innovative projects, and we'll be certain to share them with you.
|
|
GrassSolutions™ Focus
|
 | |
Carex flacca 'Blue Zinger' brings texture and good looks to any shade garden (it can handle sun, too!).
|
Last year we featured a guest series on underused grasses. This year, we turn to a different theme: Grasses for Groundcovers. We get several calls a month from folks who are looking for groundcover suggestions. What to use and how to select among the possibilities?
We were also inspired to start this series by a trip to Crate & Barrel. The landscape contractor installed Carex flacca in the strip between the sidewalk and the road. That's a tough spot, with concrete all around, limited soil volume, and lots of sun. The Carex did beautifully, and it got us thinking.
Let's move beyond Liriope. Let us show you grasses and grasslike plants that can do the heavy lifting. We'll look at spreaders and clumpers, selections for shade and for sun, choices for dry and for wet--all in hopes of inspiring you and giving you a broader palette.
We'll start next issue with the sedge from the Crate & Barrel site: Carex flacca. Stay tuned!
|
|
New Plants: Bouteloua gracilis 'Blonde Ambition' PP22048
|
Last issue, we introduced you to Everest™ Sedge. This issue, we're thrilled to tell you about a showy North American native cultivar. The humble, natural beauty of Blue Grama Grass has been raised to a higher level of loveliness.
 | |
Bouteloua gracilis 'Blonde Ambition' PP22048
|
Bouteloua gracilis
'Blonde Ambition' PP22048
- Bright blonde seed heads
- N. American native cv.
- Prefers full sun and dry conditions
- 1'; 2.5-3' with flower
- Zones 4-9
This flaxen-flowered beauty was named a 2011 Plant Select® Winner for its resistance to pests, exceptional performance in low water conditions, retail appeal, and long-lasting attractiveness in gardens and containers.
Its allure also includes an abundance of horizontal seed heads, which resemble elegant, petite flags. They emerge chartreuse, and like many superstars, transform to blonde. These exquisite blooms hover above thin, blue-green, two-foot stems.
We've heard this bombshell pops right back up after snowfall, although we have been unable to test this in our mild North Carolina winter.
'Blonde Ambition' was discovered and introduced by David Salman of High Country Gardens.
For growing and marketing tips, go to our Grass Guide.
|
|
In the News
|
This issue, our news items are all related to landscape design. Collectively, they give interesting perspectives and offer great tips on using grasses in the landscape. Plus, there are beautiful photos, and who can resist those?
15 Ways to Use Ornamental Grasses in Your Landscape
Better Homes and Gardens shows us just how useful grasses can be. From creating privacy to attracting wildlife, their slideshow should get those creative juices flowing!
 | |
Grasses soften hardscape and provide texture to beds, two of the uses for grasses highlighted by Better Homes & Gardens.
|
Joe Gardener® on Grasses
Joe Lamp'l, host of "Growing a Greener World" on PBS, wrote a short article that appeared in several papers in late February. Joe gives a general but concise overview of the advantages of using grasses in the landscape. Catch his grass take in the Seattle Times.
Before and After: Feather Reed Grass Makes a Design
An award-winning landscape highlights the structural beauty of Calamagrostis x acutiflora 'Karl Foerster'. The design by Daccord Webster Paysage uses Feather Reed Grass in a very formal, contemporary way, and it is a knock-out. This landscape won the 2012 Caterpillar Award of Excellence for Residential Landscape Construction/Installation from the Canadian Nursery Landscape Association (CNLA). Go directly to the slideshow, which features before and after photos, and see other award winners on the CNLA website.
Rhythm, Repetition, and Tying It All Together
What do grasses bring to the landscape? Designer and blogger David Meeker gives his take on designing with grasses. His post beautifully explains how grasses can unite a design and create a sense of rhythm in a way that few perennials can. He also discusses grasses he enjoys using and recommends several books that focus on grasses. All in all, a must read.
No-mow Lawn with Sedge
This post from last year illustrates how a no-mow lawn beautifully replaces standard turf grass. Pam Penick, a landscape designer and blogger, is writing a book on alternative lawns. It's always fun to see what's she's blogging about and browse her photos. In addition, she gardens and designs in Austin, TX, and we've heard how challenging that can be!
|
|
|
Comments and Features
|
Saving the IR-4 Project
 We've written in the past about our involvement in the IR-4 program, which we think is critical for our industry. We try to minimize our use of pesticides, but having safe and effective options for dealing with pests is important for our IPM program. Pesticide manufacturers often have little financial incentive to invest in registering pest control products for minor crops like ours. The IR-4 project helps provide the data necessary for EPA clearance and approval for new uses of pesticides. For the horticultural industry, it's a primary path for gaining new tools to deal with pests.
In the proposed 2013 budget, funding for IR-4 will be consolidated with other pest managements programs under the rubric of crop protection. The concern is that this structure will ultimately decrease or even eliminate funding for IR-4. Learn more about what's happening and use ANLA's website to lend your voice to our industry's effort to preserve this project.
The Communication Silver Lining
We called one of our customers last week to give some bad news--we were going to be short on an order. Few of us like to make those calls, and we try our best to make it so we don't have to. However, anyone who works with plants knows that sometimes it can't be helped.
In this case, the silver lining was apparent immediately. Our customer said he was very happy we were calling him. He appreciates our communicating with him about good AND bad news. That lets him plan and prepare for changes. He said many companies don't let him know about problems until the plants ship. We do our best to keep everyone in the loop and to avoid last minute surprises. We think clear communication will help our customers be more successful. It's wonderful to hear they agree!
Lurie Love
The Lurie Garden in Chicago's Millenium Park sings with the seasons. Piet Oudolf's planting design includes a wide range of perennials that lend color and texture throughout the year. A film directed by Tom Rossiter explores the Lurie Garden and features Piet talking about his design. Whether you've visited the Lurie Garden or not, you won't want to miss it. It really will take your breath away.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
