Creating an ornamental grass bed near a marsh

16 years ago

My husband and I recently elevated an old farmhouse near the Chesapeake Bay in SE VA. We want to add ornamental grasses in a wide bed next to an existing marsh. The bed will be 80' long (or close to it) and about 15' (or more) wide. There are pictures (this is the area at the back of the house) at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/dtjeff/sets/....see "Bay view Feb 08" for a fairly good picture of the area where we plan to start a bed.

Any guidance would be most appreciated....and certainly we may have to do this in stages....any good web sites or sources for grasses would also be great.

Here is a link that might be useful: Bay house elevation project

Comments (4)

gonativegal
16 years ago
Dear Mobjack,

I think a grass bed sounds like a lovely idea and very appropriate and in keeping with the surroundings water and wetland area that you have.

I would however caution you to stick with grasses and sedges native to your area. There are too many horror stories out there of some the Asian and other non-native grasses infiltrating into wetland areas and crowding out the more desireable species. I would also incorporate some beautiful native wetland forbs in as well such as Ironweed, Joe Pye Weed, Red Milkweed (it's funny how they all have 'weed' in the name).

I'd recommend finding a local native plant nursery to guide you through this process - there's lots of them in NC. I'm from the midwest and while many of the species are similar a person more local to you will have a better idea what would be ideal for the SE region.

You can look up JF New Nursery in Indiana - they have a website so you can get an idea of a native sedge/grass/forb planting through several pictures. They specialize in ecological restoration particularly with wetlands.
gonativegal
16 years ago
Sorry but I forgot to add,

Check out Tony Avent's website: Plant Delights.

www.plantdelights.com

He's in North Carolina - closer to home. He sells many many native plants. I'm not sure if he has much in the way of native sedges though that's why I recommend JF New for them.
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mobjack
Original Author
16 years ago
Thank you very much for your helpful advice...I thought I set up an email notice for any responses that I received...apparently not. Hence my delayed reply. I appreciate your assistance and certainly plan to steer clear of any invasive or non-native plants.
xpress5
16 years ago
Greetings:

I am sure that you have seen this grass. It will fill in nicely. It grows 6-8 ft and will give a prairie look with good coverage. New York state uses it on highways, often. It would be best to check with a Cornell Cooperative Extension or other community plant growth agency about this grass in your area.

http://www.mowildflowers.net/

Spartina pectinata (prairie cordgrass, freshwater cordgrass) SPARTINA
An adaptable species found in freshwater swamps, salt marshes and wet praries. All have slender infloresecnces which are good for drying. They prefer damp soil, even growing in shallow water at the edge of a pond, otherwise they are undemanding, growing in a variety of soils and pH levels. Thrive in full sun and will quickly colonize the pond bank. Good for naturalizing in semi-wild gardens.