Advice for N.Va. would-be gardener?

18 years ago

Hi--I posted many months ago here, but decided to let my garden bloom as it wished so I could see how it changed over all the seasons.

Now I intend to take out the things I don't want (sorry, lily-lovers!) and plant some I like. Although I like the leaves on the lily plants when they are not in bloom -- it's the kind of look I want in an ornamental -- once those apricot flowers appeared, that doomed their fate.

Can some of you who are familiar with Northern Virginia climate recommend some ornamentals I ought to look at for starters? It would be in a full-sun area in a small front townhouse garden. I want it to be less than 25 inches tall (is that realistic?) because I also want to plant flowering bulbs near it. And the only research I did previously on these was to go to a garden center and look at them. Are there ornamentals whose leaves aren't rough to the touch? Or is that kind of like a self-preservation thing to keep insects off?

Comments (3)

donn_
18 years ago
Let's see...under 2' in height, no rough leaves, no apricot blossoms and suited to Northern Virginia's climate. That probably narrows it down to a few thousand varieties of ornamental grass.

You need to spend some time cruising the web, and looking at the wealth of information on OG's found there. Decide what you want in terms of structure, form, leaf width, inflorescence, color, etc..

Bluestem, linked below, is a good place to start.

Here is a link that might be useful: Bluestem
pammyfay
Original Author
18 years ago
Actually, I thought THIS would be a good place to start; these types of forums are where novices go to get the benefit of experienced growers' knowledge. Not everyone can invest weeks looking on the Internet for information (or in Borders--and why is it that so many responses on this board basically say only "Go read some of the books on this subject"? And actually, I have flipped through some books. Trying to find specific plants mentioned in those books, however, is a different matter. And therein lies the request for N. Virginians' tips).

So is there anyone here from N. Virginia who have had great luck with certain types, or perhaps will never attempt to grow a certain type again?
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dawgie
18 years ago
I assume you are looking for an ornamental grass since this is the forum for that. Some varieties that grow less than 2' tall that you might want to consider are:

-- Hamelyn, Moudry and Little Bunny fountain grass
-- Blue fescue
-- Miscanthus sinensi Little Kitten and Adagio (borderline, might get taller than 2')
-- Blue oat grass
-- Various Carex varieties

These are all attractive varieties that I have grown in my garden. Blue oat grass needs very good drainage. The Miscanthus varieties I listed might be a little larger than you want, but are very attractive and grow well in full sun. Little Kitten's leaves are kind of rough, but Adagio's are smoother. Adagio is my personal favorite Miscanthus variety -- it has a very nice form and color and blooms heavily, but doesn't reseed.