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Extension Master GardenerSM Volunteers of Buncombe County

ornamental grasses

Wednesdays in the Learning Garden, June 22

June 8, 2022

Wednesdays in the Learning Garden, June 22, 2022
Drop-in and Learn!

Wednesday, June, 2022
10 a.m.-11 a.m.

NC Cooperative Extension
Buncombe County Center
49 Mount Carmel Road
Asheville, NC 28806

New in 2022, The Learning Garden, located at the Cooperative Extension Office, 49 Mount Carmel Road will provide opportunities to Drop-In and Learn in the garden. Each month, selected gardens will offer demonstrations and programs, while all our gardens will be open to the public.

In addition, our Helpline desk will be open indoors from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. for in-person consultations, where Extension Master GardenersSM will provide problem solving assistance. Feel free to bring questions and samples (plant and insect) to the Helpline desk during your visit to the Learning Garden.

June 22 demonstrations will be:

Compost Basics of composting 
Learn to compost with a multi-bin system: what to use and what not to
use, how to mix it, how to monitor the pile, how to know when it is
ready, and how to use the finished product.

Four Seasons Managing Grasses and Perennials
We will tell you how to prune to reduce size and promote bloom. Learn
when and how to prune your grasses and perennials to control size and
increase bloom.

Rose Garden Deadheading Roses
Bring your pruners and your questions about deadheading roses and
we will help you learn this simple but important way to keep your roses
blooming all summer.

Vegetable Garden Pruning Tomatoes
A healthy tomato plant yields a larger crop of tastier tomatoes. Our
class will demonstrate the correct method of maintaining stronger, more
resilient tomato plants.

Kids Corner Activities for Children
Introduce your children to the fun of gardening and the importance of pollinators. Plant a flower seed to take home!
Parents must remain with their children during the activities.

Our gardens open at 9 a.m. and demonstration programs will run between 10 and 11 a.m. Come, walk around, and soak in our lovely gardens! Most programs are informal and continuous – exceptions are noted above.

Note: almost all activities will be held outdoors, so please dress appropriately for the weather.

Registration is not required.  Plan to Drop in and Learn!

Happy EMGs Eager to Answer Your Questions!

Additional information about The Learning Garden is located on this website.

 

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Categories Lectures & Seminars Tags compost demo, gardening help, ornamental grasses, roses, The Learning Garden, tomatoes

Going Native with Plants: More Than Meets the Eye

March 23, 2017

Living in one of the oldest and most biodiverse places on earth, it’s easy to take our native plants for granted. Look beyond the showy favorites—rhododendron, mountain laurel, native azaleas, dogwood, and sourwood—and you’ll find beautifully understated plants that create welcoming wildlife habitats and gorgeous gardens. 

Why native plants matter
Native plants do much more than look pretty! There are horticultural and environmental reasons to integrate them into your home garden:

“The destruction of natural habitat is the greatest threat to biodiversity worldwide. In fast-growing regions, development often fragments remaining natural habitats into smaller pieces that are less likely to support a range of ecosystem services. As natural areas disappear, residential landscapes become more important sources of nourishment and habitat for the many species needed to support healthy ecosystems.”
N.C. State Extension Gardener Handbook
https://content.ces.ncsu.edu/extension-gardener-handbook/12-native-plants

Take a page from Sherlock Holmes
Investigate the planting location. What does it tell you?
Soil: Is it well-drained or does it hold water? What is the pH? Some of our most showy native plants require specific soil conditions. The Turk’s Cap Lily, for example, likes rich, slightly acidic soil.
Light: How do the intensity and timing of direct sun and shade change throughout the day and during each growing season?
Aspect: Does the garden face north/south/east/west?
Space: Can both the horizontal and vertical space accommodate mature plants? Some grasses and wildflowers grow several feet tall!
Elevation: What is your altitude? Even a few hundred feet in altitude change can make a difference in frost hardiness. 

Mimic Mother Nature
Going native means focusing on plant diversity and layering. According to the authors of “Landscaping for Wildlife with Native Plants” (https://content.ces.ncsu.edu/landscaping-for-wildlife-with-native-plants): “Clustering similar types of vegetation allows wildlife easy access to seasonally abundant food sources without excessive movement and increased exposure to predators.” Create layers by planting low-growing plants and shrubs under taller ones. This produces a healthy environment in which birds can nest and feed.

Wildflowers that wow
Wildflowers often come to mind when we think of native plants— for good reason. They attract pollinators and add vibrant color. Reliable choices for our region include: eastern bluestar (Amsonia tabernaemontana), eastern columbine (Aquilegia canadensis), and lanceleaf coreopsis (Coreopsis lanceolata) for spring; butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa), summer phlox (Phlox paniculata), and green-headed coneflower (Rudbeckia laciniata) for summer; and Joe-pye weed (Eutrochium fistulosum), cardinal flower (Lobelia cardinalis), and New York ironweed (Vernonia noveboracensis) for fall.

Eastern Bluestar (Amsonia tabernaemontana)_John Brandauer_CC BY-NC-ND 2.0_Flickr
Eastern bluestar
Eastern Red Columbine (Aquilegia canadensis)_Stephen_CC BY-NC-ND 2.0_flickr
Eastern red columbine
Lanceleaf Tickseed (Coreopsis lanceolata)_Jenny Evans_CC BY-NC 2.0_Flickr
Lanceleaf coreopsis
Butterfly weed (Asclepia tuberosa)_Mark Levisay_CC BY 2.0_Flickr
Butterfly weed
Joe Pye Weed (Eutrochium fistulosum)_Fritz Flohr Reynolds_CC BY-SA 2.0_Flickr
Joe pye weed
Cardinal Flower (Lobelia cardinalis)_Jame_CC BY 2.0_Flickr
Cardinal flower

Gorgeous groundcovers
Instead of planting a cultivated groundcover, consider a native that thrives in shady areas. For color and impact, partridgeberry (Mitchella repens) is hard to beat. In the spring, its small white flowers are a striking contrast against the plant’s vibrant green leaves. In the fall its bright red berries look holiday-inspired. Green and gold (Chrysogonum virginianum) is a popular low-growing groundcover perfect for rock gardens or along a woodland path.

Partridgeberry (Mitchella repens)_Per Verdonk_CC BY-NC 2.0_Flickr
Partridgeberry
Green and Gold (Chrysogonum virginianum)_J Michael Raby_CC BY-NC-ND 2.0_Flickr
Green and gold

Fantastic ferns
They may not be show-stoppers, but in shade gardens nothing quite compares with a lush stand of ferns. Use cinnamon (Osmunda cinnamomea) and Christmas (Polystichum acrostichoides) ferns, for example, to provide a sturdy backdrop for their more delicate relatives like maidenhair fern (Adiantum pedatum).

Cinnamon Fern (Osmunda cinnamomea)_Aaron Carlson_CC BY-SA 2.0_Flickr
Cinnamon fern
Christmas Fern (Polystichum acrostichoides)_NatureServe_CC BY-NC 2.0_Flickr
Christmas fern
Northern Maidenhair Fern (Adiantum pedatum)_Kent McFarland_CC BY-NC 2.0_Flickr
Maidenhair fern

Great grasses
It’s easy to overlook these hardy plants that provide a rich habitat for songbirds, skipper butterflies, and small mammals.  But to add height, texture, and delicate color to your garden, grasses provide a low-maintenance option. Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum), for example, has pink-tinged flower particles which create a cloud-like effect in mid-summer. Little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium) develops a blue cast in the summer that turns copper-colored in the fall and lasts through winter.

Panicum virgatum_Matt Lavin_CC BY-SA 2.0_Flickr
Switchgrass
Little Bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium)_Autumn Light_jacki-dee_CC BY-NC-ND 2.0_Flickr
Little bluestem in fall

Resources
With so many choices available, making decisions about what is right for your garden can be overwhelming. Fortunately, there are excellent resources for navigating the world of native plants. Purchase your plants from nurseries and gardens that specialize in propagating natives. Not only do plants harvested in the wild rarely survive, the practice of harvesting them degrades the very ecosystems we know and love.

NC Native Plant Society:
http://www.ncwildflower.org/native_plants/recommendations

Article written by Janet Moore, Extension Master Gardener Volunteer.

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Categories Native Plants Tags bluestar, butterfly weed, cardinal flower, Christmas fern, cinnamon fern, columbine, coneflower, coreopsis, ferns, green and gold, groundcovers, ironweed, joe pye weed, little bluestem, maidenhair fern, native plants, ornamental grasses, partridgeberry, switchgrass, tickseed, wildflowers

Time to Maintain: Cutting Back Ornamental Grasses

February 13, 2017

The best time to cut back your ornamental grasses is any time before new growth sprouts in the spring.  If you haven’t done this yet, plan to do so in late February!

Panicum virgatum_Matt Lavin_CC BY-SA 2.0_Flickr
Panicum virgatum or switchgrass

Ornamental or warm season grasses in the landscape
I thoroughly enjoy ornamental grasses in my landscape for their interesting foliage textures amidst my evergreen shrubs and perennials, and for their lovely seed heads in fall.  I even like seeing their golden-brown leaves dotting the landscape in winter.  My yard is home to a variety of ornamental grasses of various sizes and shapes—blue fescue (Festuca glauca ‘Elijah Blue’), pink muhly (Muhlenbergia capillaris), dwarf fountain grass (Pennisetum oriental ‘Hameln’), little blue stem (Schizachyrium scoparium), prairie dropseed (Sporobolus heterolepis), and switchgrass (Panicum virgatum ‘Shenandoah’). These warm season grasses are mostly maintenance-free with one exception: the dead foliage needs to be cut back in the late winter to showcase the thick flush of new growth in spring.

Tips for cutting back foliage
I choose a warm, sunny day in late February, retrieve hand and electric pruning shears and some bungee cords from the shed, and head to the yard.  For more delicate, short grasses, such as blue fescue and dwarf fountain grass, I use very sharp hand pruning shears and cut the foliage to 1 to 3 inches above ground level. For larger grasses, I wrap a bungee cord around the center of the foliage of each grass clump. Then I use electric shears to cut the foliage below the bungee cord, about 3 to 6 inches above the ground.  I’ve discovered that electric shears make quick and easy work of the cutting-back process on these thick, tall grasses.  And the bungee cord holds the foliage bundle together in a nice, neat package that I simply pick up and toss in the compost pile!

Article written by Beth Leonard, Extension Master Gardener Volunteer.

Resources:
https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/category/ornamental-grass/

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Categories Seasonal Chores Tags ornamental grasses, pruning, winter garden chores

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