Landscaping decor

Ornamental Grasses in the Landscape

Over the last few years, interest in ornamental grasses in the landscape have surged in popularity. They require little care, not very much water, and depending on variety very winter hardy. Grasses vary in height, color, and seed head texture. Ornamentals can be grown in containers (smaller varieties) or in the landscape as specimen plants.

Purple fountain grass

The most popular in greenhouses around here are fountain grasses. Varieties range from purple to green foliage color with large fluffy plumes. Even if the label states this grass is a perennial, in South Dakota it is grown as an annual.

Blue fescue

Blue fescue is a small, rounded mound of grass under 12 inches. The plant is great in front of the perennial bed. I have easily grown the plants from seed started indoors. The grass has a bluish color with tan seed heads. In our state, it is not evergreen so it will brown in the winter and green back up in early spring.

Blue oat grass

Blue oat grass has a blue-gray color with exceptionally fine blades. It will grow to 3 feet in height with oat-like seed heads.

Little bluestem

Big and little bluestem is a native grass mostly found in the eastern part of the state. It is increasing in growth range in the central part lately. These are the purplish-blue grasses you will see in the early fall. The large feather plumes turned white as they age. Little bluestem grows around 2 feet and big bluestem grows around 3 to 4 feet.

Fiber optic grass

Fiber optic grass is a Midwest annual grass. It has dark-green blades with little balls on the tips of the grass blades. Grows around a foot tall but gracefully bends down.

Miscanthus grass

Now my favorite, the miscanthus grass. I have a couple of these plants that are around 10 years old. They grow in a large mound with large plumes getting over 5 feet tall. Miscanthus is as close to pampas grass as you can get and much hardier.

Zebra grass

One of the easiest grasses to grow is the zebra grass. It has dramatic green and yellow cross yellow foliage. The flower is purple to pink growing to over 5 feet tall.

Bunny tails grass

Another grass easily grown from seed in the bunny tail grass. It is a small grass around a foot tall with large “bunny tail-like” seed stalks. Makes a great container plant.

Ribbon grass

Lastly, if you want the grass to naturalize, try ribbon grass. A grass with vertical green and white stripes around 1 to 2 feet tall. This grass can be a little invasive. I divided some of this type of grass and threw the extra over the fence. It did take hold and great in a nice patch. The cows sure like it.

Home Improvement

Steampunk Decor

Last week we wrote about the increasingly popular industrial style decor. Now let us delve into an offshoot of the industrial style called steampunk décor. This dates back to the Victorian Age where England was just starting the Industrial Revolution. So, metals and industrial mechanisms are brought into the home décor.

Steampunk bathroom

The wall colors go back to the factory colors of black, brown, and copper. Tin ceilings and wall coverings with gears and other inner factory mechanisms are part of the steampunk design. Obviously, furniture and other furnishing made from pipe (steam punk-get the pun) is a must. Steamer trunks make great coffee tables. Floors do not have carpet but are painted black, grey, or white. Wall can be darker woods.

Edison lighting

In light fixtures, hanging pendant lights with Edison bulbs like the ones used in the factories at the time. Wall decorations are large gears (which you can adhere mirrors to), overly large clocks, and old distressed wood for cabinets.

House Plants

Growing Carnivorous Plants

If you want a challenge, try growing carnivorous plants. They are attention grabbers and eat insects to boot! If you use a sterile, sandy soil mix which you can buy from a specialty store. Keep the soil moist but have good drainage using rainwater or melted snow warmed to room temperature. I kill some of mine by giving tap water. Avoid any fertilizer. Give filtered light with some direct sun from an east window. They grow best in a terrarium. Keep temperatures above 50 degrees. If you match their climate to growing on a forest floor, they become less challenging.

Sundew

The sundew plant comes in many varieties and sizes. Colors of yellow, red, pink, and purple can be found. At the tip of the leaves is a clump of sappy tentacles and when an insect touches it, it becomes suck and the bristles curls around the insect to slowly digest it.

Pitcher Plant

Pitcher plants have cup-like leaves that fill with liquid coming again in many varieties to vining plants to pitchers coming from the soil itself. The insects crawl into the liquid and are digested with the enzymes in the liquid. The “pitchers” have a lid to keep excess rainwater out. The large ones are from 1 to 2 feet trapping frogs.

Venus Fly Trap

Venus flytrap is the most common carnivorous plant with the spring hinge that catches the insect after they rub the little hairs in the trap.

Butterwort

Butterworts are small plants looking like a succulent with very colorful flowers. They have a sticky substance on their leaves to catch and digest insects.

Aquatic Bladderwort

Bladderworts are floating aquatic plants that have swellings on their leaves that open to attract the insect with a sweet substance. Once inside the insect is consumed. These plants are grown in an aquarium or a bowl with water. They do have yellow flowers. There are terrestrial bladderworts that can be grown like a ground cover. Since they grow in bog conditions, they need to be wet.