A Native Grass Experiment

Poverty Grass sways in the slightest breeze.

Poverty Grass shows its silvery-gold inflorescence.

small and delicate inflorescence

I wrote about Danthonia spicata earlier this year in a Wildflower Wednesday post.  It's a cool season grass native to Middle Tennessee and can be found almost everywhere in the US and Canada.  

Poverty Grass is a perfect name for a grass that grows in the most inhospitable of 'lawn' spaces: Dry upland woods and forests, upland prairies, glades, tops of bluffs, old fields, eroded pastures, roadsides and dry disturbed areas. Of course, it's naturally occurring in my garden!

It's the dominant grass in the 'lawnette' areas of my garden.  It's a wispy, slender bladed grass that starts growing in the cooler weather of Spring, then flowers and sets seed in the early summer.  I don't water or fertilize this grass.  Traditionally, it is mowed to help balance the exuberance of my wildflowers.  But, last winter I decided to let it flower and go to seed.  I wanted to see how the grass looked full grown and I wanted free seed.

It looks lovely en mass

It looks lovely en mass.  The delicate, narrow blades are short by ornamental grass standards, about 12 inches, but, they move in the slightest breeze.  It's quite charming, sometimes it looks silver, other times quite golden.  I think it would make a delightful meadow grass...especially planted with aquilegias, phloxes and other native wildflowers. 

the wispy grass blades and seed heads dance in the breeze

In my book, this the experiment has been a success. The lawnette is:

• low maintenance: (no watering, no fertilizer, no pesticides, with only occasional mowing
• sustainable
• biodiverse (natives grasses in general are host plants for many butterflies and skippers and that increases dramatically if you plant forbs and the little bunnies love hiding there)
• charming 
• lovely
• making seed

Eastern Tailed Blue has been all over the danthonia!

 It's amazing but, this charming, hard working, grow almost anywhere grass is exactly the "weed' that lawn aficionados would work hard to eradicate!

They don't know what they are missing!

xxoogail

PS It's the perfect lawn alternative for a small garden.

Gail Eichelberger is a gardener and therapist in Middle Tennessee. She loves wildflowers and native plants and thoroughly enjoys writing about the ones she grows at Clay and Limestone." She reminds all that the words and images are the property of the author and cannot be used without written permission.

Wildflower Wednesday: Poverty Oat Grass

 But, its real charm is the twisted beige winter foliage

Danthonia spicata won't be found among the ornamental grasses offered by most nurseries.  It isn't a big sexy grass with showy inflorescence, but, it has much to offer for gardeners who love native plants.

Danthonia starting to fill in the lawnette

I love that it will grow on dry, rocky and poor soils where one might assume nothing could possibly grow. So it's probably no surprise that it is found naturally growing at Clay and Limestone. I've plenty of thin soil sitting on top of rock and Poverty Oat Grass is growing right on top of it.

I had already fallen for its charms long before I stumbled upon it's identity.  After all, here was a plant that grew were absolutely nothing else would and it required very little care.  It has a  ground cover effect where it has been allowed to seed and spread. But, its real charm is  the twisted beige winter foliage.

But, that's not all! It has wildlife value! Various insects feed on the foliage, including several really cute skippers and small critters use the foliage for protective cover. It's also deer proof! Btw, that's becoming increasingly important to me! 

source: Matthew Perry

It's very happy in the semi-shade of the Bur Oak and is the primary grass in the Blue Bottle Tree lawnette. There's something  pleasantly calming about mowed greenery amidst the exuberance of my native plantings, but, I'm thinking of letting the danthonia flower and go to seed.  I want to see the plant in full growth and see the inflorescence that has been described as small and delicate. It's a airy grass that may look lovely en mass.  In addition to all those good reasons, there's one more: letting it go to seed means more plants since, this little grass does not spread by rhizomes. 

In case you were wondering: 


Danthonia spicata is technically a cool season perennial bunchgrass that can be found growing in most of North America except California, Nevada and Utah (not to worry Danthonia californica grows there). 
Native cool season grasses grow and reproduce in cooler conditions, offering forage in early spring, fall, and part of winter, and seed by early summer.  They grow well under the shade found in woodlands or in moist and dry prairies and are easily propagated from seed.  Chasmanthium latifolium (River Oats) and Elymus hystrix (Bottlebrush Grass)  are two other native cool season grasses that you are more likely to encounter  in the trade. Bunch grasses form one clump (or bunch) and do not produce well developed rhizomes or stolons. Gardeners who want to move away from the high maintenance of  turf grasses should consider  bunch grasses. Both cool and warm season bunch grasses fulfill an important ecological role in prairies and other natural communities.  They can play a similar role in our gardens.  These grasses provide food (forage and seeds) early in the growing season as well as cover for wildlife.

I am happy to report that if you want to give Poverty Oat Grass a try in that very difficult, poor dry soil you can now find seed. Try searching the internet or you can visit Prairie Moon Nursery.

It's a really cool grass. Trust me!  Have I ever steered you wrong!
xxoogail

Thank you for stopping by and welcome to Clay and Limestone's Wildflower Wednesday celebration. WW is about sharing and celebrating wildflowers from all over this great big, beautiful world. Join us on the fourth Wednesday of each month. Remember, it doesn't matter if they are in bloom or not; and, it doesn't matter if we all share the same plants. It's all about celebrating wildflowers. Please leave a comment when you add your url to Mr Linky.  




Gail Eichelberger is a gardener and therapist in Middle Tennessee. She loves wildflowers and native plants and thoroughly enjoys writing about the ones she grows at Clay and Limestone."

Let's Celebrate Wildflowers This Week!

Baptisia 'Starlight Prairie Blues' is also in bloom.

It's been a great Spring for wildflowers at Clay and Limestone. Gardeners in Nashville and all around Tennessee, weren't surprised with any late freezes; so far we've had smaller weather events then the big flooding rains of last year; and, the temperatures are only now approaching 80F. The redbuds and dogwoods were the best I've seen them in years. Everything that can flower looks like it will! So, I am celebrating wildflowers everyday this week along with Frances of fairegarden and anyone else who wants to join the party. Post anytime this week~or everyday. Let's just celebrate!

Phlox pilosa, Aquilegia canadenses, Baptisias, Salvia lyrata, grasses and native friendly exotics

Wildflowers and native shrubs have to be rugged to grow in the shallow clay soil and survive our wet winters and dry summers. Cedar Glade natives and native friendly exotics that will grow and thrive in clay and limestone make sense.

Here's one that needs to be showcased more often; with a nod to several of its companion.

Salvia Lyrata

Lyreleaf Sage or Salvia lyrata

Some folks (and while I am not naming names, you know who you are~xoxo) still insist that this delightful wildflower is a lawn weed! Not in my eyes.

Blue Eyed Grass is a tiny little iris that grows best in average to poor soil!

When mixed with native sedges and grasses, and cutie pie Western Daisy and Blue Eyed Grass you can have a fantastic substitute for a water hungry lawn. The lawnette where Lyreleaf Sage grows is also Tommie Crocus friendly. I think it's a wonderful native~Good looking and functional.

Western Daisy is a native annual that makes a lawn pop from Spring through the Summer

Salvia lyrata is native to the wood's edge, thickets, roadsides, tall meadows and lawns of the eastern USA. Give it full sun, deep shade or anything in between: sandy or clay soil; and, occasional moisture! Our summer droughts and humidity don't faze it! It can be walked on, mowed or left alone to create a delightful groundcover.

It's a mint family member with a square stem and two lipped blossom and it will make a nice groundcover.

Lyreleaf sage has the square stem and 2-lipped blossom of the mints. Its pale-blue to violet, tubular flowers are arranged in whorls around the stem forming an interrupted, terminal spike. (spaces between whorled flowers) Each blossom is about 1 inch long.

This lip is the perfect bee landing pad! That makes me smile!

The exposed lower lip of this and other salvias provides an excellent landing platform for bees. When a bee lands, the two stamens are tipped, and the insect is doused with pollen.

I never tire of saying or feeling this~Isn't nature amazing!

xxoogail

PS More wildflowers to come. Mid week will bring us around to Wildflower Wednesday for any regular participants. Please note that Mr Linky will be on the sidebar all week! Feel free to join anytime.


This post was written by Gail Eichelberger for my blog Clay and Limestone Copyright 2011.This work protected under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Please contact me for permission to copy, reproduce, scrape, etc.