Fall Photos of Our Ornamental Grasses at Lovegrass Farm

The Fall is the Prettiest Time for Ornamental Grasses.  It's also our Favorite Season of the Year! We've been cleaning up in the Garden and Planning for next year.  We've had quite a few visitors that have come to see the Grasses in their Fall Splendor & make Wish Lists for next Year!  It's been Great to see Folks from Nova Scotia & New Brunswick, as well as our Native P.E.I.!!   We enjoy sharing what we've learned about growing and caring for Ornamental Grasses & meeting people that Love Grasses as much as we do! 

Eragrostis spectabilis (Purple Love Grass)

Sporobolus heterolepis (Prairie Dropseed)

Seslaria autumnalis

Andropogon gerardii (Big Bluestem)

Eragrostis trichodes (Sand Lovegrass)

Sorghastrum nutans (Indian Grass)



Carex buchananii 'Red Rooster'



Seslaria heufleriana

Panicum virgatum 'Shenandoah'

Morning Dew on Our Ornamental Grass at Lovegrass Farm in P.E.I.



Pennisetum alopecuroides 'Hameln'

These photos were taken last Friday morning (September 2, 2011) at Lovegrass Farm.  The heavy dews of late Summer make for some pretty sights in the Early Morning Garden!


Panicum virgatum 'Native' & 'Heavy Metal'

Deschampsia cespitosa 'Bronzeschleier'

Calamagrostis acutiflora 'Karl Foerster'

Sporobolus heterolepsis (northern dropseed)

Miscanthus Giganteus with Deschampsia & Blue Oat Grass in front

Seslaria autumnalis

Helictotrichon sempervirens (Blue oat grass)

Wind Effects on Ornamental Grasses at Lovegrass Farm in P.E.I.

A Windy Day at Lovegrass Farm on P.E.I.

Hurricane Irene, then Tropical Storm Irene, luckily so far for us has brought some needed rain and enough wind to mesmerize me watching our Grasses blow around!  Gosh, I wish everyone could see how beautiful they look today!  We are often asked the question, how do they hold up in the wind, because we are on the shore and we get a lot of wind?  These photos of before & after should answer those questions!

Calamagrostis acutiflora 'Karl Foerster' blowing in the wind

Karl Foerster after the Gusts of Wind

Blogger is giving me problems this morning uploading photos so I'll have to add more later when it's cooperating!

AAH! Summertime on P.E.I. Gotta LOVE IT!

Our Favorite Beach looking West

Our Favorite beach looking East

The last ten days or so have been making up for the cooler, wetter Summer we've been having!  It's been 23 C to 27; perfect for berry picking & Beaching!  We went off to our favorite beach last Friday and took along a couple of our extended family for company.  It's about an hour's drive away which makes it seem more like a holiday.  We packed a picnic basket including fresh blueberry lemon muffins & of course fresh wild blueberries since I had been picking with my Friend/Sister the day before!  The water is finally warming up for swimming and we didn't see a jellyfish!  We like to stay away from the touristy beach area which isn't difficult to do for there are hundreds of beaches all around the Island.  Some are rocky but most are sandy. Our favorite is on the South shore facing the Northumberland Strait.  On a clear day you can see Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia on the horizon.  There was a haze in the distance in the morning and I had the kids believing (for a minute) that the Magdalen Island Ferry in the distance was a phantom ship. (The younger one was a tad frightened by that so I had to tell them the difference) darn!

Mount Hope Lookout Tower

We stopped on our way home to climb a Lookout Tower for a view of a large Marsh.  We had just picked the kids each a cattail, which they were calling bullrushes, so we were trying to explain the difference.  They are such little sponges for learning!  Love, Love, having an abundance of young people in our lives!!

More Twig Wreaths For Sale at Lovegrass Farm in P.E.I.



Side View of Bronze Larch Wreath to show Depth of 18 in. (45 cm.)

Large Larch Wreath 54" Diameter (1.4 m)

Large Grey Birch Wreath 48" diameter (1.2 m.) 16" depth

Sweetfern Wreath on Reindeer Moss 24" diameter (60 cm.)

Large Blonde Larch Wreath

Small Bronze Larch Wreath 36" diameter (90 cm.)

While cutting twigs from our dormant Larch trees we discovered that there were a variety of colors to the twigs on different trees so I named them what the colors reminded me of.  The lightest one I call Blonde, deeper colors Gold and a couple of trees were even darker so they became Bronze.  The Gold and Bronze really show nicely in bright light.  I believe this to be a Very Unique Wreath that holds up really well outdoors!  Our Wreaths are Handmade on Wire Rings with Twigs from our P.E.I. Fields and Forests.

The Lavender is Blooming at Lovegrass Farm in P.E.I.

Our Lavender Bunches

Cutting Our Lavender on July 14, 2011

The Lavender is beginning to bloom on our Farm.  Our plants are organically grown Lavandula Angustifolia.  The darker Hidcote  and some of the Krajova are in bloom.  Munstead will be out a little later.  Sunday sounds like its going to be a Hot day that will really bring the bloom along; a change from the unusually cool and windy days of late!  If anyone would like to come by and cut their own lavender send us an email.  There is something Sooo Relaxing about sitting down in the Lavender Rows! 
Lavender is an edible Herb!  When cooking, use it lightly, a little goes a long way, and too much will leave a bitter taste.  Add 1 Tbls. dried lavender to 4 cups of sugar and let it sit for a couple of weeks.  Sift out the lavender and use the sugar normally.  Sprinkle fresh lavender on a salad for a unique taste and visual appeal.  Lavender substitutes for Rosemary in all dishes.  If you are grilling meat, sprinkle some dried lavender on the hot coals to add flavor and a lovely aroma!  You'll find lots of recipes on the Internet.

The Meadow Garden at Lovegrass Farm on P.E.I.

Hordeum Jubatum (Foxtail barley)

Our Meadow Garden needs some weeding out of hay and more aggressive grasses so we can see the plugs planted last year.  Not getting around to it has made for some pretty surprises.  Hordeum jubatum (foxtail barley) showed up in the meadow about two feet tall in lovely full plants.  It is native but I've only seen it before along the roadside as individual plants about 8 inches tall.(20 cm.)  They are Very Soft-a tickle you under the chin plant for kids-of all ages!  Researching the plant, I've seen it in a photo of Scott Ogden and Lauren Springer Ogdens' meadow garden in Colorado.  They are spoken of as being exceptional plant persons and designers both. It was located beside their seating around a fire pit where you could  just reach out and touch.  It is promoted as doing well on salt-laden coastal sands so may be one we'll grow for seaside plantings.

Koleria macrantha (June grass)

Koleria macrantha or June Grass is aptly named for it makes a nice showing in June and early July .  It prefers sandy and well-drained soils and it gets that with us in spades.  It only grows 1 to 2 ft. (30- 60 cm.) tall so we'll be able to mix in some wildflowers like Echinacea pallida (which I found in some trays overwintered from last years seeding! :)

Butterflies

Butterflies and Humming birds and Bees are everywhere in the Garden these days!  It Pays Off not to use any Herbicides or Pesticides and to have a great diversity of plantings!