Grasses: Choosing and Using These Ornamental Plants in the Garden

Description

Grasses are the keynote plants of twenty-first century gardening. They provide year-round interest and are hugely versatile offering a diversity of size, form, colour and texture unsurpassed by any genus. They are treasured for the way they seem to capture light and bring structure and movement to gardens of any size. A relative newcomer, a hundred years ago gardeners only had the choice of eight or ten ornamental grasses. Now thanks to nurserymen, breeders and collectors around the world there are several hundred varieties. These cover an enormous range of sizes, textures and colours and are suitable for almost any growing condition. Informative and inspirational, this book guides the reader through this wealth of choice selecting the grasses best suited to various garden uses, habitats and design styles. Individual portraits at the heart of the book capture the fluid, dynamic and evanescent beauty of the different grasses, while photographs of borders and gardens illustrate a host of ideas for growing them. The possibilities are limited only by the imagination of the gardener or designer.

Roger Grounds is a distinguished writer, horticulturalist and designer who has been growing and studying grasses for nearly four decades. For many years he ran Apple Court Nursery in Hampshire, one of the first to promote and offer a comprehensive list of ornamental grasses, and in doing so played a major role in bringing these long-neglected plants to their present pre-eminence. He has written, broadcast and lectured on the subject internationally ever since. His many books include Ornamental Grasses, The Plantfinder's Guide to Ornamental Grasses, and the RHS Practical Guide to Grasses and Bamboo.