Remember any trip to nature. What is most remembered? Most people will answer that wild grass swaying in the wind brings a special peace and a sense of peace. You can bring this beauty to your garden. Do not be surprised: decorative cereals are called ornamental herbs, because they can create an incredible impression, add mystery to any composition on the flowerbed and emphasize the style of the owner of the garden. By combining a variety of cereal plants, you can create an amazing island that by the end of the garden season will flourish and give your site a unique, autumnal charm.
Decorative cereals: all the best from nature itself
Moody, varietal flowers require a lot of attention, labor and care, may refuse to bloom or die at all if the weather conditions do not meet their needs. An alternative option for the design of flower beds are decorative cereals. Together with unpretentious zinnias and other annuals, they will create an amazing oasis of beauty. Ornamental grasses play an important decorative role in most landscapes, have a calming effect, while creating a seamless, colorful, flowering picture. Being a central emphasis in garden design, decorative cereals can not only complement flower beds during the summer expanse, but also hide voids at the end of the garden season. These plants are universal, they are suitable for decorating the shore of the pond, add brightness to the Japanese garden, they are indispensable for the design of an alpine hill or rutaria. If you plan to set up a garden in the style of the prairie, then a soft carpet of cereals will be an ideal foundation. They also perfectly decorate the terrace or containers on the balcony.
It is decorative cereals that have the property of magical effects on humans. They rustle so pleasantly in the wind that pictures of free steppes and lush meadows involuntarily pop up in my memory. These plants do not leave us in the winter. A little crushed by snow bumps of all shades, from greenish brown to blue, brighten up the winter landscape. In spring, old perennials will need to be sheared, and annuals should be removed and a new sowing made.
Growing Features
Decorative cereals for the garden need to be carefully selected, focusing on the final composition. In general, these plants are unpretentious and will grow under any conditions. But the sizes and shapes of cultures can be completely different. In addition, the varieties differ in their preferences: some love sunny and dry areas, for others the best option is wet and shady places, or even a garden.
Dimensions are another parameter to consider. Gigantic plants that add splendor and natural riot are suitable for a large garden. Small ones are able to beautifully frame borders and get along in a container, which means that even a miniature front garden will decorate.
Ornamental cereals for the garden were mostly imported from the humid regions of Europe and Asia. This must be taken into account when considering an irrigation system. I must say that most of these herbs are able to survive under the most adverse conditions, while they are aggressive invaders, trying to master the entire territory provided. But the larger the bush, the more moisture and nutrients it will require.
Seasonality and care
It is possible to plant perennial decorative cereals throughout the season, excluding only the hottest month - July. Stop landing should be a month before the onset of cold weather. Winter crops will rise well at the beginning of next season. In the case of annuals, autumn sowing is also effective, but in spring you should hurry with planting. It is advisable to produce it with the onset of stable warm weather, around mid-May.
Grains will not require your care throughout the season. Usually perennials are planted in certain places, where they remain for the next few years, until your need for reforms is ripened. The most important thing is to tidy up the dried grass in the spring, cut it to the root so that the fresh shoots start to grow faster.
Keep in mind that herbs have the ability to spread their seeds everywhere. Ornamental cereals are fully involved. The exception is hybrid, sterile varieties and certain species that have no seeds at all. It is good to use dried grass as mulch for other plants. It serves as an excellent material for the protection of tree trunk circles .
Transplant and disease
Unlike many plants, ornamental herbs have virtually no natural pests. The only problem may be ticks or aphids, but they can be dealt with with the help of a strong pressure of water. The second remedy that always helps is a soap solution. But usually stiff stems do not seem too tidy prey for insects. When cutting or transplanting, be sure to wear gloves: razor-sharp edges of some types of leaves can damage the skin.
Be sure to try to grow decorative cereals on your site. How to plant, we have already told (by sowing seeds). When transplanting perennials, it must be borne in mind that after sitting in one place for several years, they form such a dense and strong root system that it is very difficult to divide the plants.
A collection of herbs for your flower garden
For large gardens, tall and lush decorative cereals are well suited. A photo of such a flower garden will never leave indifferent any housewife. These species include combed spartine, cane reed and bearded Gerard. If you have a small flowerbed or front garden, then a large honekloloe or a blue molynia is well suited - these two variegated species are very beautiful, but grow much slower than their large relatives.
A very beautiful composition can be obtained if you select a pair for cereals, namely decorative plants. In such a combination phlox, gelenium, verbena, poskonik, meadowsweet and hemophilus will look very beneficial. As a rule, if you are preparing an autumn flowerbed, you need to consider the color that decorative cereals will acquire by autumn. Species in harmony with the yellow flowers are the imperial leaf and cylindrical emperors, as well as copper-red rod millet.
If your flowerbed is designed in red colors, then the best option would be to shade it with a live-bearing sheep and blue fescue. These plants acquire a bluish color of leaves and stems, which perfectly complements the autumn crimson and gold.
Cortaderia, or pampas grass
A charming, exclusively decorative evergreen will definitely become the most beloved in your garden. If you provide good watering and lighting, then the cortaderia will delight you with a bush 2.5-3 meters high. Very long, lanceolate leaves bend elegantly, and fluffy flower stalks will adorn your garden all year round. That's right, because weightless inflorescences will look great in a snow-covered garden. Cortaderia is completely unpretentious, it is not afraid of drought and quickly grows into whole plantations. Its leaves are matte green with a longitudinal stripe, but lush spikelets on slender peduncles look simply charming. In the garden, one must strictly monitor the number of these plants so that they do not conquer the entire territory.
Plants - "water chowder"
If your garden has a pond or any other water area, and you want to revive it, then choose any of the types of plants that we will now give. Remember: you should not plant a pond very densely, even if at first it will seem completely bare. Plants quickly turn into lush bushes and give layering. The first one to mention is the mannik big. It grows in shallow water and marshy meadows. Fruiting shoots must be removed so that they do not inseminate everything around. This cereal is very aggressive and unpretentious, and if you do not monitor the number of plants, they will soon cover the entire territory far beyond the pond. In addition, there is a double-source reed, swamp iris, reed, cattail, bulrush, russet and sedge.
Miscanthus Chinese
This is a wonderful cereal that looks very interesting in almost any garden. Its cirrus leaves are red, green, and yellow. There are also spotted varieties. Miscanthus is easy to recognize: the plant forms a hummock with dark narrow leaves, separated in the middle by a white stripe. Culture loves fertile soil, the sun and a sufficient amount of moisture, does not tolerate drought. In our latitudes, the plant winters quietly without additional shelter.
Evergreen sheep
Its official name is Helicotrichon. This is a frost-resistant cereal perennial that feels great in areas blown by the winds, and grows even with snowy and frosty winters. Its environment is a dry, not too fertile soil and a bright sun. Excessive moisture threatens to rot the roots. Sheep is a wonderful decoration of paths and borders. If you got one bush, then it can be disassembled into several tens of small ones. By the end of summer, each bush will grow into a beautiful plant with white spikelets.
We hope you are interested in decorative cereals. Millet purple is another worthy option for decorating your garden. It is distinguished from a sheep by its original color.