Don’t panic if your best efforts to plant and tend flowers for your backyard wedding garden have withered in this hot and humid year. Even if there’s little time for blooms to recover before the big day, I’ve got a solution. Use one of the tricks from my Weekend Gardening show on the DIY Network. It’ll put the elegance back in your sunburned yard in just one weekend!
Ornamental grasses are instant problem solvers when you buy large specimens at the garden center.
Miscanthus sinensis ‘Variegata’
Whenever our TV gardens looked sparse, I always relied on large ornamental grasses supplied by our show’s biggest contributor, Monrovia. They always had a great selection of super huge grasses that came ready to use to plug the holes and hide eyesores. You can find Monrovia grasses in this same large, mature state at quality garden centers. No, they’re not cheap but they’re ready to use. And if your special day is coming up all too soon and the garden isn’t up to snuff, knowing that you can spruce it up overnight with grasses will ensure you peace of mind.
Maiden grasses, genus Miscanthus are the biggest of all ornamental grasses. They can reach five feet or more in bloom in a 5 gallon container size.
Miscanthus sinensis ‘Graziella’
Grasses are the salvation of the late summer and autumn garden when they are at their absolute best. They have produced plentiful seed stalks that wave and nod in the slightest breeze. They hold these through the fall as they gradually grow dormant with frost, so you need not worry about them going out of bloom before your autumn wedding. Some of the grasses get better looking as temperatures fall, turning gold and russet as they start the long slow process of dying back for winter.
Miscanthus sinensis ‘Purpurescens’ in late Autumn.
