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FrontRangeLiving.com -> Garden -> Summergrasses
Splendor in the Grass
By Niki Hayden
 Spring wildflowers are the prima ballerinas of nature. Showy and aromatic,
each bloom beckons, enticing a bee or butterfly. But by late summer, the ballet
corps--those stalwart grasses--pirouette on their own. With unremarkable flowers
held aloft, they need only catch a slight breeze to continue their species.
Bright yellow pollen hangs like tiny gold coins from grass stamens in
September. You won’t notice unless you look closely—too closely for
those with an allergy.
“Just like a flower has an ovary and stamens, grasses are the same. The
stamens are dangling and blow the pollen to the female stigmas. Grasses produce
a lot of pollen and that’s why people who are allergic hate them,” says
naturalist Ann
Cooper, who writes children’s books
about the world of science and nature. Each story takes a child on an imaginary journey that
may stretch from seashore to mountains.
A broad-brimmed hat protects her strawberry-blonde hair and
porcelain complexion from the Colorado sun. A slight British accent reveals her
origins. Cooper examines Colorado with the enthusiasm of a newcomer although
she has lived here for nearly 40 years.
“You can’t really go back to where
you came from,” she says, “it’s all changed. And in your new society,
you’re always a little set apart. That’s what it is to be an immigrant. But
I love the American idea of a melting pot.”
What’s left of the American prairie has become a horticultural melting pot. Cooper
points out that you’ll rarely see the prairie as it originally existed. More
wildflowers coexisted with the native grasses two hundred years ago. Once the
prairie was plowed, the soil changed forever. Invasive grasses like smooth brome
and cheat grass bully their neighbors. Hay grasses adapted and stayed. One
original native, Indian grass, is Cooper's favorite and they're in top form come late
summer.
REMNANTS OF THE PRAIRIE
 We’re lucky to have found a healthy sea of grass. This summer has been
unusually hot and dry. Many of the foothills and mountain flowers shriveled,
forcing hummingbirds to fly to lower altitudes earlier than usual. Cooper shakes
her head at the scorched acres that usually sport spectacular specimens of big
bluestem and Indian grass. In a marshy lot near a creek
side, grasses have fared better.
“Big bluestem as tall as a man—well, almost,” she quotes from a pioneer
description. The stamens of blue grama grass with their feathery spiklets are
labeled, “grandmother’s eyelashes.”
Colorado once was a grand prairie that smacked into the mountains. Cooper
says pockets have survived—if you can find them. The Pawnee Grasslands and
Comanche Grasslands are short grass prairie that once were homesteads. Farmers
found them too rocky to be plowed and sold the land back to the government.
Closer to the foothills, where the traditional rainfall is higher, tall prairie
grasses thrive.
“Grasses are determined by the rainfall,” she says, “We have stranded
relics of populations of tall grass. Switch grass is a tall grass that will grow
along an irrigation ditch. And where there are rock outcroppings toward eastern
Colorado, where rain collects, you’ll find medium grass prairie. Rocky
outcroppings also haven’t been plowed or hayed, so you’ll find original
grasses.”
Big bluestem boasts a burgundy stalk in September. Indian grass stands out
with its golden sheaf. Switch grass sends delicate arching spikelets that dance in the breeze. A few blue chicory flowers, purple asters and yellow mullein
add spots of color. A colony of one grass ends where another begins. When
the wind kicks up, the grasses make their own rustling music.
GRASSES OF YOUR OWN
Gardeners have discovered grasses for their gardens, too. A few ornamental
grasses have their roots in prairie specimens. Like these wild grasses,
ornamental grasses vary widely in their water needs, so it’s important to
match the thirsty grasses with marshy perennials and the dry-loving grasses with
a drought-resistant garden. Many offer a simple architecture to a perennial bed
and a golden or even reddish hue throughout autumn and winter. Most grasses
should be planted and divided in the spring. A winter mulch will prevent the
frost and heave danger during winter.
Three excellent ornamental grasses for Colorado are the blue fescue, Indian
reed grass and little bluestem. All adapt to clay and alkaline soil. Watered
regularly during their first year of growth, they will become more
drought-resistant once they’ve adjusted.
 Feather reed grass (Calamagrostis x acutiflora) will grow almost to
four feet on extremely upright stalks with golden tips that look like amber
grain. It needs full sun. Water regularly the first year and
give less attention after that. It doesn’t self-seed and rarely requires
dividing. You can cut it back to about 8 inches in late winter to initiate new
growth. “Karl Foerster” is a popular cultivar.
 Blue fescue (Festuca ovina glauca) is the most popular ornamental
grass grown along the Front Range. The bluish tinge and small, rounded compact
form embellishes perennial beds. But blue fescue adjusts best to rock gardens
and slopes. It prefers cool weather and excellent drainage. Watering too
frequently, especially in clay soil, will shorten the lifespan and the center
will die out. Divide the clumps every few years.
 Little bluestem (Schizachyrium scopulorumis) is beloved for the color
variations throughout a season. It’s almost a turquoise in the spring, turning
to a burnished burgundy by the autumn. A native grass, it’s perfectly adapted
to drought, cold and clay soils. Plant it among your drought-resistant or native
perennials.
Other grasses worth trying:
 Switchgrass (Panicum
virgatum) is native to the tall prairie and
requires more water than the little bluestem. Although it’s less commonly
found than either feather reed or blue fescue, switch grass adapts well to
Colorado soils and, once established, requires only slightly more water than
little bluestem. Combine it with perennials, such as daylilies or purple
coneflowers, to accommodate water needs. Switch grass will send up lovely, thin,
almost aerial flowers in autumn and the leaves have edges of red. Cut back to
about six inches in late winter and divide the clumps every several years.
 Fountain grass (Pennisetum
alopecuroides), also called Australian fountain grass, is one of the most graceful of
ornamental grasses. It will require more water than native grasses, so it’s usually
paired with brilliant late summer flowers that also require water. Make sure to
buy the hardier versions because some of the fountain grasses must be grown as
annuals. Even the hardiest fountain grass sometimes dies out in winter. Full sun
is best; divide every five or six years.
 Ribbon
grass (Phalaris arundinacea) is a beautiful striped green and white grass that
may become invasive. With tough runners that grow into adjacent plantings, some
gardeners plant it in tubs with the bottom cut out. It grows best in rocky soil
rather than heavy clay preferring full sun and sufficient water. May be cut back
in the heat of the summer when it sprawls. It grows well by a waterside.
Zebra grass is a confusing name because several grasses share the moniker. (Miscanthus
sinesis 'Zebrinus') is from a family of grass called Eulalia grass. Graceful and
easy to grow, it adapts to most soils. It requires sun but will accept partial
shade. Originally from East Asia, it will need heavy watering.
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