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companion shrubs and plants for Morning Light in border

Posted by lynn8989 7 (My Page) on
Sun, Sep 21, 08 at 17:52

We reduced our turf grass in the front yard due to drought conditions and now have a full sun, mildly sloping area that is 30' feet long and 14' deep. A friend suggested using Morning Light in this area. I'd like to add 3-5 ornamental grasses but I don't want the bed completely dwarfed by the grasses. What shrubs and flowering plants can I add that would look good? Do you recommend Morning Light or should I look at others?


Follow-Up Postings:

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RE: companion shrubs and plants for Morning Light in border

'Morning Light' is an excellent selection - great flowerheads, good variegation and foliage effect and a reasonable size. It's likely the most popular of the Miscanthus cultivars.

You might want to do some research under the heading of the "new American garden" and the LA's Oehme and vanSweden, who initiated this design school. It is a very naturalistic, free-flowing planting style utilizing ornamental grasses - like the Miscanthus and very basic native (and non-) perennials and shrubs: sedums, rudbeckias, salvias, echinaceas, barberries, euonymus, aronia, clethra, etc. But any perennials and shrubs that share similar growing conditions to the OG's would work equally as well. The key is to plant in swathes or sweeps rather than onesy-twosies for visual impact.

Here is a link that might be useful: new American garden


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RE: companion shrubs and plants for Morning Light in border

One possible 'look' is to use dark low growing shrubs or ground cover. This looks stunning planted with Miscanthus 'Morning Light' or M. 'Variegatus'. The dark low growth makes the grasses POP at this time of the year.
Here is an example from my garden

Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting



This photo was taken in August 2006 - the vinca now surrounds all the grasses & looks even better :o)
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