SG576: Ornamental Grasses for Every Garden

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I am really excited about today’s show: I’m going to review a variety of ornamental grasses and provide tips on how to incorporate them into your landscape. Ornamental grasses add so much to your landscape.  They offer a diverse number of benefits to any garden: amazing structure throughout all four seasons, a romantic & hazy relaxed quality to the garden (I call it the hazy-lazy let’s-hangout-here vibe), the colors range from blues and purples to reds, greens, yellows, oranges, browns and even blacks. 

Imagine the following scenarios:

● Walking into your garden early in the morning and seeing dew on the seed-heads of your grasses.

● Or, the majestic quality of grasses in the fall - when their colors are as vibrant as the leaves on the trees.

● Or, looking out your window in the winter time to see the feathery plumes loaded with birds.  Grasses are absolutely beautiful.

As far as I’m concerned, grasses possess a magical quality.  Perhaps this has something to do with their marvelous relationship with one earth’s four basic element: wind. Wind is powerful, invisible, playful, soothing and life-giving. It can also be incredibly destructive. Like many things in this world that we cannot see - the wind is made visible by the movement of grasses.  In the same way that their inflorescences play with the wind, they also invite us to reach out and touch them - they are quite irresistible as you walk along a path. The sound of the wind through ornamental grasses is alluring - the rustling of the grasses adding another sensory experience for the gardener. 

For this show on ornamental grasses, I’ll share some thoughts on why you should consider adding grasses to your garden. Then, I’ll review some of the most-loved cultivars from popular genera of grasses. Finally, I’ll share some thoughts on the care and maintenance of grasses, as well as help you with some tips on planting & division.

Thanks for Listening!

Still Growing,

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I never write reviews but this is the best gardening podcast out there. Jennifer has interesting topics and guests and is not one bit annoying like some others are. I love that she involves her kids at the end of the podcast - usually with poetry or music. Really good podcast.

- Barbcfc, Mar 23, 2016

Still Growing is one of the reliably informative gardening podcasts from North America. The format consists of an intro (personal gardening status chat, seasonal remarks), an extended interview with a guest, and an outro with funny outtakes, side remarks, and some chatter (poems, readings) from the host's children. The podcast is focused on reliable knowledge - the guests are typically experts like academics, master gardeners, gardening entrepreneurs or public garden leaders. The intro and especially the outro give it a homey feel. Given I live in the high northern region, just a little below the Polar Circle, I'm always looking for more cold-weather oriented gardening information. Jennifer Ebeling is in Minnesota, so that's helpful to me! Vegetable gardening (my main interest) gets a good share, but is not predominant. Most topics transcend your specific gardening interest and are applicable to many styles: landscaping principles, vermicomposting, greenhouses. The episodes are typically an hour long, which is just fine for me.

- cwaigl, May 29, 2014

Best gardening podcast out there. Her preparedness leads to a good interaction with the guests and brings out the best in them. Very informative and yet personable.

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This is a great podcast. Really well produced and organized with good sound quality. I love the mix of information and personal touches. Jennifer has great guests and asks the best questions. You can tell she really does her homework. I listen to several gardening podcasts and this is my absolute favorite!

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Jennifer Ebeling
Jennifer Ebeling is a proud Minnesotan and U of MN alumni. Gooooooo Gophers! Each week, Jennifer produces and hosts Still Growing - a gardening podcast dedicated to helping you and your garden grow. The show is an in-depth interview format. Guests featured on the show share a passion for gardening and include authors, bloggers, professional gardeners, etc. Listeners and guests of the show can join the Still Growing community on Facebook. It's a place to ask questions, share garden stories, interact with great guests featured on the show, and continue to grow and learn. Jennifer and her husband Philip have four children, a big golden lab named Sonny, and live in lovely Maple Grove, Minnesota. P.S. When she's not teaching her four kids a new card game - or teaching them how to drive a car - Jennifer loves inspiring individuals and groups to maximize and personalize their home & garden.
Jennifer Ebeling
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3 Comments

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