Walk through any neighborhood in Georgia, South Carolina, or coastal North Carolina, and you will likely see two types of lawns side by side — one maintained with evident effort, edged precisely, mowed low and dense; another quieter in character, softer in tone, asking relatively little of its owner. In many cases, the first is…
If you live in the southern United States, the Gulf Coast, or any warm, humid region of the world, chances are your lawn choice comes down to two grasses more than any other: Bermuda grass (Cynodon dactylon) and St. Augustine grass (Stenotaphrum secundatum). Both are warm-season grasses. Both are tough, vigorous, and capable of producing…
Choosing the right grass for your lawn is one of those decisions that seems simple at first — until you realize how much depends on it. The wrong choice can mean years of struggling against drought, disease, shade, or soil problems. Two of the most popular cool-season grasses in North America are Kentucky bluegrass (Poa…
Winter has a way of stripping the garden down to its bones. Deciduous shrubs lose their leaves, perennials retreat underground, and colour becomes a distant memory. Yet, for gardeners who plan thoughtfully, the cold months do not have to mean an empty, lifeless landscape. Ornamental grasses are among the most reliable plants for carrying a…
Privacy is something most homeowners want and few achieve as elegantly as they would like. Solid fences block views effectively but create harsh, static boundaries that shrink a garden visually and offer nothing to wildlife or the broader landscape. Dense evergreen hedges take years to establish and require regular clipping to stay within bounds. And…
Sun is one of the greatest gifts a garden can have. A site that receives six or more hours of direct sunlight each day opens the door to one of the most spectacular and diverse plant categories in all of horticulture: full-sun ornamental grasses. These are plants built for brightness, warmth, and open skies. They…
Border planting is one of the most rewarding — and most challenging — aspects of garden design. A well-planted border holds interest across multiple seasons, balances texture and color without becoming chaotic, and maintains a sense of proportion that makes the entire garden feel considered and intentional. Achieving all of that consistently is harder than…
Most ornamental grasses follow a familiar seasonal rhythm. They grow vigorously through spring and summer, flower in late summer or autumn, and then die back to the ground as winter sets in. That cycle is beautiful — there is genuine poetry in the way a frozen grass catches early morning frost in January. But not…
There is a certain kind of gardener who wants a beautiful landscape but cannot — or simply does not want to — spend every weekend maintaining it. That is not laziness. That is realism. Between work, family, travel, and the hundred other demands on modern life, the idea of a garden that largely takes care…
Shade is one of the most common challenges in gardening. Trees, fences, buildings, and the natural orientation of a property all create areas where sunlight is limited — sometimes severely so. Many gardeners resign themselves to ground covers or hostas in these spots and leave it at that. But there is a whole category of…