Books
Book Review: Grasses: Versatile Partners for Uncommon Garden Design
Aug 9, 2006
By Jo Anne DeKeles
LSOL.com Customer Service Manager |
Author
Bio
I don’t know about you, but when I think of grass I think of something that I have to water and then get Jon or Bryan to cut. I guess if I did not water it, then they would not have to cut it. But then again I am not sure brown is the best color for out in front of the house.
|
I don’t know about you, but when I think of grass I think of something that I have to water and then get Jon or Bryan to cut. I guess if I did not water it, then they would not have to cut it. But then again I am not sure brown is the best color for out in front of the house. Grasses, by Nancy J. Ondra is a book about more than just the grass that is planted in front of your house. It is about ornamental grass. These are versatile grasses that come in all kinds of shapes and sizes from low ground hugging to shrub size clumps. Plus, the colors on many of these varieties is amazing. 
The book makes clear that the stereo type image that people have of grasses that look weedy does not hold up in the light of the garden. Just like perennials, grasses can spread fast. They explain to you that you can take measures to control them in return for their beauty. I learned a lot from this book. It starts off explaining all about the different grasses that are available. Not all plants called ornamental grasses are actually “true” grasses. The term grasses has become a convenient way to identify a range of plants with similar traits. There are sedges, rushes, clumpers, grasses and creepers too. It explains to you how you can use the different features of these grasses to create interesting effects. The rest of the book is broken down into three logical areas; Color Palettes, Yearlong Beauty and Problem Solvers.
 Color Palettes: I never knew that grasses came in so many colors. This chapter shows you how there are gold and bronzes as well as blue and grays that can be mixed in a wide variety of ways.  Yearlong Beauty: The best part of grasses, I have come to find out, is that you can create a garden for all four seasons. Grasses can be used not only in the Garden Railroad, but to accent your pond, to line your paths around your railroad, as well as adding to your current beds and borders.
 Problem Solvers: Living in Idaho presents special problems. Maybe where you live there are problems with heat, snow, etc. This book can help you select special grasses for special places. Remember grasses are not just for ground cover. They can be used to creating divisions in your railroad, to cover slopes and for create low maintenance areas in your yard.  This book is idea for someone with a larger Garden Railroad that needs to cover a lot of area. While it does provide information on low ground cover grasses, this is not its main focus. Large grass, as shown in this book, could look very out of place on a small area Garden Railroad. If used on a larger area railroad it could really bring out the “Garden” part of your railroad.  Top of Page
|
