June, 1906 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



271 



As a liwn specimen the most effective and 

 tallest grass is the blue giant reed (Arundo Donax, var. 

 macrophylla). Sometimes reaches thirty feet high. 

 Hardy perennial 



It is not at all particular as to where it is 

 placed, but prefers a sunny situation, and 

 lends itself admirably for use in aquatic 

 groups. 



It is easy to increase by division of the 

 clumps in early spring; and flowering speci- 

 mens can be grown in a single season from 

 seed sown indoors in February or March. 



TWO GOOD GRASSES FOR AQUATIC EFFECTS 



A grass which is, somehow, but seldom 

 grown, yet is admirably adapted for effects 

 around ponds and along streams is the reed 

 canary grass (Phalaris arundinacea) . It is 

 a hardy perennial, growing five or six feet 

 high, with beautiful whitish, drooping, 

 spike - like flower panicles and narrow 

 leaves. 



One word of caution about this plant: It 

 is very apt to spread too freely by means of 

 its underground shoots, and must be rig- 

 orously kept within bounds. It is most 

 easily increased by means of these same 

 underground shoots. It may also be grown 

 from seed. This grass is found growing 

 wild in wet ground through North America. 



A much better-known plant is its varie- 

 gated form, the common ribbon grass 

 (Phalaris arundinacea, var. variegata, some- 

 times known in the trade as var. picta). 

 The leaves are longitudinally striped with 

 white. This must be looked after as sharply 

 as the type, as it has the same propensity for 

 spreading rapidly. A small piece planted 

 in the garden soon makes a large clump. It 

 can be controlled by planting in a sunken 

 drain tile. 



II. GRASSES FOR SPECIMENS 

 ON THE LAWN 



The pampas and Ravenna grasses are ex- 

 cellent subjects for planting as single lawn 

 specimens. So are the eulalias, which rank 

 among the first six popular grasses cultivated 

 for ornamental purposes. They endure our 

 rigorous northern winters with little or no 

 protection. 



The common eulalia (Miscanthus Sinen- 

 sis, known in the trade as Eulalia Japo- 

 nica) makes a beautiful, compact plant, four 

 to nine feet high;- with long, narrow and 

 drooping leaves which arch over most grace- 

 fully. Old, well-established plants will form 

 clumps eighteen feet in circumference. 



There are several varieties: The striped 

 eulalia (M. Sinensis, var. variegatus) has 

 leaves which are longitudinally striped with 

 yellow; the zebra grass (M. Sinensis, var. 

 zebrinus, known in the trade as Eulalia ze- 

 brina) has leaves which are banded with 

 yellow, a very curious and puzzling charac- 

 teristic. It is not quite as hardy as the plain 

 green form. The Japanese rush (M. Sinen- 

 sis, var. gracillimus, known in the trade as 

 Eulalia univittata) has leaves about one half 

 as wide as the type, or about one-half inch, 

 and is a delightful plant for small gardens, 

 exceedingly effective as a background to the 

 herbaceous border. 



There is a native grass which is little 



Mass planting. The variegated eulalia (Miscanthus 

 Sinensis, var. •variegatus) has striped foliage — some- 

 times reaches eight feet high 



grown in our gardens, but really a beau- 

 tiful plant, particularly after the flowering 

 time (July). This is the spike grass (JJni- 

 ola latifolia) , a hardy perennial growing two 

 to four feet high. The spikelets are large and 

 thin, and, when ripe, droop on their slender 

 stems, which makes it very graceful in effect. 



III. GRASSES FOR EDGINGS 

 AND BORDERS 



I think the best dwarf grass is the pen- 

 nisetum (Pennisetum villosum, known in the 

 trade as P. longistylum) . It is not hardy, 

 but may be grown each year from seed 

 started in February or early March. Old 

 plants, dug in the fall and stored away from 

 frost over winter, can be propagated from 

 the following spring. The plants attain a 

 height of one or two feet, and bear very 

 feathery brownish spikes two to four inches 

 long. It is particularly valuable for edging 

 beds and borders. The leaves are long, 

 narrow, and drooping. 



More graceful, but slightly taller, is Rup- 

 pell's grass {Pennisetum Ruppellii, known 

 to the trade as P. Rupelianum). It has 

 longer spikes, and was a conspicuous grass 



in the grounds of the Pan-American Ex- 

 position in 1902. 



A GRASS FOR SHADY CORNERS 



The blue fescue grass (Festuca glauca) is 

 valuable because it will flourish in moderately 

 shady places. It is a very handsome hardy 

 perennial, which grows in little tufts, and has 

 leaves of a deep silvery blue. For color 

 value alone it is worth growing, and answers 

 as an edging plant along a border on the sun- 

 less side of the garden — a place which is al- 

 ways difficult to plant. 



AN IDEAL EDGING GRASS 



The hare's-tail grass (Lagurus ovatus) is 

 such a delightfully pretty little plant that I 

 am sure, if you grow it, you will always want 

 it in the future. The tuft of leaves grows 

 only about eight inches high, and the leaves 

 are densely covered with soft, whitish down. 

 They bend downward, and the plant is 

 ideal for use as an edging to the flower bed, 

 or along the walks. Its flower head can be 

 likened to a pampas-grass plume in minia- 

 ture. It is borne on an upright stem, several 

 inches above the foliage, is of a glistening 

 white color and silky texture. The plumes 

 can be cut and used for indoor decoration, 

 and will take dyes as well as the pampas 

 plumes. The plant is a hardy annual, and 

 seems to flourish equally well on heavy or 

 light soil; provided it receives a fair supply 

 of water. 



A GRASS FOR GREENHOUSE BENCHES 



The isolepis grass (Scirpus cernuus, known 

 in the trade as Isolepis gracilis) is the only 

 grass that makes a good greenhouse plant. 

 It is indeed invaluable for edging benches, 

 relieving the stiffness of the painted wood and 

 hiding the pots of other plants. 



The leaves are three to twelve inches long, 

 slender and cylindrical, and those on the out- 

 side of the tuft droop, while those of the 



Border planting. Giant reed edged by eulalia. 

 Both are permanent grasses, and may be edged by 

 a different flower or annual grass each year 



