A faithful blog reader emailed me after the first blog post on this garden (8/31/11). She wanted to know if the Deschampsia caespitosa 'Goldtau' is invasive? My experience is that it is not, but I have only planted this in a few gardens with regional proximity (NW Evanston & Wilmette). So, I asked my main wholesale perennial grower, the awesome Brent Horvath of Intrinsic Perennial Gardens. Brent said: "No, I have seen it reseed some in our wet field but not likely in a garden." I also quote his catalogue for other details: "A unique look for this species, this form has a much shorter habit to around 15"+. Heavy clusters of gold flowers hang on from summer to fall. Prefers moist soil and sun to part shade."
In this planting (below), the Tufted Hair Grass gets exactly those soil and light conditions. I am often looking for shorter plants so they can contrast with larger shrubby forms in the garden...as below with the boxwood and the birch. I took these pictures almost exactly a year ago. Since then we have converted the left corner (above) from turf to plants that better withstand dogs & winter conditions. Because the little bit of turf geometry on the right (above)gets more sun, it is better able to hold its own.
To all those faithful readers who email me: if you have a question or comment like this whose discussion would be interesting to others: please post it so we can share. It should only take signing up once...of course, I do also appreciate hearing from you individually. Thanks!
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