Grasses and the rock garden

[Lori S.]

No, it's not evergreen here, Rick.  It does look soft and nonthreatening in the photo but that's deceptive!  The blades are very thin and stiff and prickly!  The bigger of my 2 plants has got to ~10" (25cm) diameter since being planted in 2004.  (The picture is from 2007.)

Oops, I guess I should add how tall it gets... the mounds of foliage stand about 6"-8" tall.

[cohan]

No, it's not evergreen here, Rick.  It does look soft and nonthreatening in the photo but that's deceptive!  The blades are very thin and stiff and prickly!  The bigger of my 2 plants has got to ~10" (25cm) diameter since being planted in 2004.  (The picture is from 2007.)

Oops, I guess I should add how tall it gets... the mounds of foliage stand about 6"-8" tall.

that's a nice short one, Lori! Did you get it as seed or a plant? Do the blades dry and stay in place in fall?

[Lori S.]

I bought a couple of plants from a local garden center that had an alpine section (supplied by Beaver Creek, I suspect, but not sure).
The blades turn dry and tan in winter but are replaced in late spring.  The only maintenance it needs/gets is that I cut the flower stems off after they dry.

[cohan]

I tend to like grasses best when they turn brown (or those that aren't green to start with!)  green gets tiresome in mid-summer...lol

[Lori S.]

Yeah, because summer is so loooonnng here, right?  

[cohan]

Yeah, because summer is so loooonnng here, right?  

That's it--just overwhelmed by all that growing season, lol.. I just have an overall preference for non-green plants-blue, white, black, red, brown..of course the occasional  bright green sets them off nicely

[RickR]

You need to join the "Brown is my Favorite Color Club".
There's always room for more applicants.
I think I am the only member...

[McDonough]

You need to join the "Brown is my Favorite Color Club".
There's always room for more applicants.
I think I am the only member...

Rick, do you work for UPS

[cohan]

You need to join the "Brown is my Favorite Color Club".
There's always room for more applicants.
I think I am the only member...

lol--is that brown for everything, or just plants? I do love brown for plants, but also really really fond of glaucous surfaces and white furry coverings, spines in red and black and white, stripes, spots etc etc!

[RickR]

Well, maybe not everything.  But pretty much     Actually, I do agree that brown isn't all that exciting unless you combine it with other textures, patterns, colors, etc.  But one only needs to venture a view of a marsh in the fall with all the varied hues of cattails, sedges, grasses, and bare trees and willow scrub to know what I mean.

[cohan]

Well, maybe not everything.  But pretty much     Actually, I do agree that brown isn't all that exciting unless you combine it with other textures, patterns, colors, etc.  But one only needs to venture a view of a marsh in the fall with all the varied hues of cattails, sedges, grasses, and bare trees and willow scrub to know what I mean.

I fully agree on that--I have many photos of such places/times!

[James McGee]

...also pictured, a couple of nameless ( to me) 'sedges' photographed on the same day in late July..

Cohan,  I believe the sedge in the second photo of Reply #10 is Carex buxbaumii.  In my area this sedge is an indicator of undisturbed high quality remnants.  I tried to grow it last year.  Not a single seed germinated.  Just to prove my ineptitude, I am trying again.  Maybe the few plants I found between a railroad and highway borrow pit are unable to cross pollinate.

Here is an article about Carex buxbaumii in Europe that I found to be interesting.

http://www.botanicgardens.ie/conserve/buxbaumii.htm

My best guess on the third sedge is Carex festucacea.

Lastly, thank you to Panayoti for starting this thread.  It takes a mature gardener to appreciate the subtle beauty of the graminoides.


James

[Hoy]

Carex buxbaumii is common here but C. festucacea doesn't grow here at all. But I am ignorant of this genus

[James McGee]

Hoy,  It does not grow in Alberta either!  Therefore, it can't be C. festucacea.  Maybe it is C. brevior.

James

[cohan]

James, I'm going to take a look at those... to suggest why I have not looked at these (in terms of ID, I love the plants and photograph them often)-- Flora of Alberta has 3 full columns of species names listed in the index, and the key to the genus is 10 pages long, requiring close examination of mature fruits! Nevermind related or similar looking genera.......
A very quick glance at the map shows over 30 species that should or could be in my area, and past experience shows there are probably a number of others that have not been observed here but are in areas nearby and likely could occur around here..
Interestingly, buxbaumii is not shown in my area, but is in the 'could be here but not noted' category, since it is shown to the west of here, and many foothills plants do occur here but have not been officially observed..
Similar applies to brevior, which the maps mostly show occurring well to the north of here..
I don't know to what extent farming areas such as this have been officially surveyed, but its not uncommon to find things not shown on the maps (which in any case are so tiny, its hard to tell what is where..)..