Carex rosea (Curly-styled wood sedge)

Carex rosea on June 7 at Lovegrass Farm on PEI

Carex rosea on June 13 at Lovegrass Farm

Carex rosea on October 15 in full sun

Carex rosea (Curly-styled wood sedge) is a fine textured clump-former native to deciduous & mixed forests.  It grows 8 - 12 inches (20 - 30 cm.) tall and has pretty light green narrow leaves and flowering stems from 6 - 20 in. tall.  The leaves were almost a chartreuse color in Spring.  It is well adapted to dry shade but can handle mesic to wet land and is walnut tolerant.  Sedge plants won't compete with trees for moisture because, unlike turf grasses, sedges have dense, fibrous root systems that hold water.  One third of those roots die every year, decomposing and adding moisture, Co2, and organic matter to the soil.  Sedge is a native alternative to liriope; a commonly planted non-native plant that can be invasive.  Carex rosea makes a great ground cover and can even be used as a filler in container plantings.  We grew our plants at Lovegrass farm from seed; hoping to supply a grass for difficult spots under trees but to our pleasant surprise find it to be a good ground cover in full sun.

Carex eburnea (Ivory sedge)

Carex eburnea (Ivory sedge) September 15 at Lovegrass Farm on P.E.I.

Carex eburnea in our garden rows at Lovegrass Farm

A grouping of Carex eburnea on October 15 at Lovegrass Farm



Carex eburnea on October 31

Carex eburnea (Ivory sedge) on June 7 at Lovegrass Farm

Carex eburnea or ivory sedge would make a Great Native Groundcover.  It has very fine soft green foliage that grows only 6 - 8" or (15 - 20 cm.) tall.  Eburnea's native habitat is under coniferous or mixed forests or on rocky cliffs.  We have grown our plants from seed and they seem to do well in Full sun in our well-drained sandy soil at Lovegrass Farm.  Their blooms in late Spring are insignificant.  The deer resistance of Carex eburnea would make them good garden plants in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick especially on steep rocky slopes.  They are slowly rhizomatous and look awesome massed together in drifts.

Photos of Deschampsia flexuosa at Lovegrass Farm

Deschampsia flexuosa on June 30 at Lovegrass Farm

Deschampsia flexuosa on June 13 at Lovegrass Farm

Deschampsia flexuosa on June 30 at Lovegrass Farm

Deschampsia flexuosa on July 9 at Lovegrass Farm



Deschampsia flexuosa on July 13 at Lovegrass Farm





 

Photos of Carex muskingumensis (palm sedge) at Lovegrass Farm

Carex muskingumensis (palm sedge) September 6, 2012 at Lovegrass Farm





Carex muskingumensis June 7, 2012 at Lovegrass Farm

Carex Muskingumensis at Lovegrass Farm July 9, 2012



Carex muskingumensis at Lovegrass Farm on August 20, 2012

Festuca Mairei at Lovegrass Farm on P.E.I.

Festuca mairei (Atlas Fescue) July 2, 2012 at Lovegrass Farm

Festuca mairei (young divisions) July 9, 2012
 

Festuca mairei with Sea Holly on July 27, 2012 at Lovegrass Farm

Festuca mairei on October 31, 2012 at Lovegrass Farm



Festuca mairei on July 13, 2012 at Lovegrass Farm


 

Festuca (fess-TOO-kah) mairei (MAY-ree-eye) (Atlas fescue) has narrow gray-green foliage 2 - 2 1/2 ft. (60 - 75 cm.) tall and wide with very fine stems and starts flowering in June.  A cool season slow grower with good tolerance to hot summers it is very durable and long lived.  Mairei grows in an arching clump.  It is fast becoming one of the most dependable grasses for creating drought tolerant meadows; makes a great accent in a meadow of shorter grasses.  Mairei offers excellent erosion control on hillsides and stream beds.  Growing in full sun to light shade Mairei works well in beds and borders or massed as a ground cover.  It did really well in our hot dry summer last year!





Eryngium yuccifolium with Ornamental Grass

Eryngium yuccifolium (rattlesnake master) at Lovegrass Farm August 25, 2012 with Little Bluestem and Echinacea

Eryngium yuccifolium (rattlesnake master) at Lovegrass Farm in late summer

Eryngium yuccifolium on Aug. 12, 2012 with Echinacea

Eryngium yuccifolium (rattlesnake master) was a common plant of the tallgrass prairie & I Highly recommend it for anyone looking for plants to mix with their meadow grasses.  Its' bluish, gray-green leaves can extend to as much as 3 ft. long resembling those of yuccas.  Small greenish-white flowers tightly pack into globular 1 in. diameter balls resembling thistles atop stiff stems 3 - 4 ft. tall.  It prefers dryish sandy soils and is a Long Lived plant.


Sanguisorba menziesii "Dali Marble" at Lovegrass Farm

Sanguisorba menziesii 'Dali Marble' (burnet) October 26, 2012 , Lovegrass Farm

Sanguisorba 'Dali Marble' with Miscanthus 'Huron Sunrise' in background

Sanguisorba at Sundown

We've had Sanguisorba menziesii "Dali marble" (burnet) at Lovegrass Farm for a few years now but this year I've come to love how it mixes with our grasses!  It has bottle brush like maroon flowers in late summer over variegated blue-green toothed foliage; a large plant, but open in habit.  It's not particular to soil type or ph. and is a long lived perennial.  It is said to prefer to grow in moist to wet soil and will even tolerate some standing water.  It does amazingly well in our dry sandy soil!

Sanguisorba 'Dali Marble' late October at Lovegrass Farm

Festuca mairei is in the immediate background in the above photo with Pennisetum 'Hameln' in the back.