The Zebra Grass (Miscanthus zebrinus) planted there looked especially good while dormant so I crossed this spot off the to-do list.
Not so fast...
A year later the Zebra Grass and Ruby Crystals Grass (Rhynchelytrum nerviglume) in the front island bed had been reduced to toast by the drought and heat of 2011.
Clearly a rework was needed and since this is a highly visible spot, it moved quickly to the top of the to-do list. I replaced the miscanthus with three drought and heat tolerant Lindheimer's Muhly.
Or so I thought...
Soon after planting the "Lindheimer's Muhly" I noticed they didn't look quite right. These plants were purchased during the fall sale at a very reliable independent nursery and all three were labeled Lindheimer's Muhly. No reason to doubt, except they didn't look nearly as nice as the Lindheimer's muhly planted a year earlier.
In fact, they looked weedy and more like field grasses. Definitely not a good look for the front yard where I need plants to hold up through the winter. They were dormant when planted and I was pretty busy last fall so I decided to wait. When they began to green up this spring I compared the blades and, sure enough, they are not Lindheimer's Muhly.
This all worked out okay because I had changed my mind about what I want there anyway. I decided to add Gulf Muhly (Muhlenbergia capillaris) to my yard after seeing the most amazing displays of them all over town last fall and noting that they continued to look good all winter. The Lindheimer's Muhly originally appealed to me because I didn't think I would like the Gulf Muhly pink as much. Plantings like this one along Josephine St. changed my mind.
The unidentified grasses have been moved to new beds in the back yard. Fortunately my husband disliked the mystery plants even more than I did and was more than willing to help me move them and plant the Gulf Muhly. We also relocated the Ruby Crystals Grass and replaced them with the more drought tolerant Mexican Feather Grass (Nasella tenuissima)
The three misidentified plants were deeply discounted in a fall sale last year and I've found a new spot for them so I'll just let the nursery know what happened. It'll be a fun surprise to see what they are when they bloom in the fall.
It's such a prominent spot that if this doesn't work, I'll rework it again. Meanwhile, I love it when I change my mind and it works out.
Oh, yes, gardens are always changing! I don't think I've ever been 'finished' with an area! Love the pink muhly. I see it all over Dallas in the fall, and fall in love each time. It will look fabulous in your bed! I can't wait for pictures of it this fall. Good luck with your mystery grasses. I hope they end up being something spectacular!
ReplyDeleteThank you Holley, of course I'll revisit this spot throughout the summer and fall.
DeleteWe never really can cross a garden off our to-do list, can we? They always change and often require intervention -- but of course that's half the fun. I'd be annoyed about the mislabeled grasses, but you took it in stride. The Gulf muhlies will be so pretty out there.
ReplyDeleteThere are a lot of factors that go into my handling of the mislabeled plants, but basically I'm retired and gardening is meant to be a hobby around here. When I was designing for clients I would not have been okay with a mistake like that.
DeleteI have also been experimenting with different types of ornamental grasses so they just fit in. A little mystery to watch.
One of my favorite quotes is "The garden that is finished is dead.".
ReplyDeleteThat's a good one Brian! I have so many areas that need to be done the first time that it's tough to go back and do one over and over...
DeleteYea, I know what it's like to have to work and re-work--and with perennial beds, that can take a long time. But, as gardeners, that's what we do. I love Gulf Muhly and I think you'll really love where you put them.
ReplyDeleteI'm expecting good things from these. They will get plenty of sun and are easy to water if needed.
DeleteHa...Re-Gardening. That's a great word for it. And, that is the story of my life. It seems I'm always re-gardening areas.
ReplyDeleteBut, I guess that's just another thing that keeps us going.
The Gulf Muhly should look great there. It's one of those things on my list, too.
Hmmmm....will that mean re-gardening a place to put them?
I love that word!
Have a good weekend.
Thank you Linda! It's a cold and rainy weekend, but I'm making plans for more gardens.
DeleteI definitely see why you did those needed refinements, post summer of death (star). I wonder what your "field grass" was? A few things left here, new plant-wise and landscape lighting to repair.
ReplyDeleteNow, just move those feathergrasses a few inches, just so.....
Lighting is something I have yet to address. It is needed as the front can get quite dark.
DeleteThose feather grasses are staying put...unless you plan to come over here and move them!
I'm in the process of re-gardening my front garden this year, although I didn't know that was what I was doing, until I read your post.
ReplyDeleteI was trying to use "undo and redo" as when working on a computer, but it didn't sound right. So Re-gardening it is.
DeleteIt's definititely good to experiment and I'm glad it worked out:) I think I've changed my mind on several things two to 3 times already and I have to keep it consisistent! I like your spacing of the plants....it looks clean and open.
ReplyDeleteThanks Chris. The plants and spacing are intentional to work with the roof line of the house. I should put that on the list to write about sometime.
DeleteI planted a small toothache tree in early February and I have moved it four or five times since. A couple of times, I moved it back to the same spot. Moving plants is a bad habit of mine.
ReplyDeleteYour mystery grass looks like to could be a muhly of some sort. Maybe deer grass, Muhlenbergia rigens?
It is a problem most gardeners have I think. Here on the rocks and caliche, it can take several hours to prepare for a 6" plant so I try to leave plants alone as much as possible. The soil in this spot has been improved so it wasn't as big a problem.
ReplyDeleteI'm wondering if the ID issue is similar to the problem I've had finding the floppy version of Nolina texana as in this post from David at The Desert Edge.
http://desertedge.blogspot.com/2011/11/nolina-texana.html
The mystery grass foliage is much coarser than the Lindheimer's muhly existing in my yard, but it do see as similar version around parking lots here so it just may be a slightly different muhly.