While I was in Brisbane last month I could not help but notice how Queensland Transport are using native grasses and new hybrid clumping grasses in most new highway plantings in the Brisbane area.
In fact, across regional Queensland many councils and private businesses are using more ornamental grasses in their landscapes.
Not only are these plants very showy they are in general very waterwise.
A great example is the use of Hemerocallis or Day Lilies in many gardens across in the Gladstone region.
Day Lilies are extremely hardy in just about all soil types, and from positions of full sun to part shade.
The evergreen varieties are usually characterised by their pale green leaves and many attractive, flowering hybrids, with colours ranging from pale creams and lemons to striking purples and reds.
The fact is many of our local councils are already using these plants in their own landscape projects.
Some of these councils include Banana Shire Council at their Town Hall building in Biloela, and the Central Highlands Regional Council where these plant have been used at the Emerald Town Hall and the council offices in Capella.
Some of the most attractive hybrid clumping grasses or lilies I have seen recently that could make a great display in your garden could include some of the following:
Dianella Coolvista is native clumping grass with grey-green strappy foliage that forms a dense habit. Attractive blue-mauve flowers and bright yellow stamens will appear during the heat of Summer. It will grow 45cm high and 45cm wide. Best planted in a well-drained soil in full sun and is drought and heat resistant.
Dietes grandiflora or The Fairy Iris could be the right choice. It is a very distinctive flowering tussock shaped 1m high plant for a part shade or easterly position. During the warmer months showy white three petaled flowers with centre golden stripes emerge in mass. Each flower will last more three days.
Festuca Elijah Blue is a compact form of the Blue Fescue Grass that should grow in small tufts up to 20cm. This ornamental grass is ideal for landscaping especially when mass planted. The fine blue foliage makes a feature of borders, along pathways or used in scattered planting. Elijah Blue requires a well-drained position as plants will not grow well in wet soils. A good tip in growing the Elijah Blue is to prune the grass annually so to remove spent seed heads in late summer and to promote new growth.
Hymenocallis Thai Spider is a very showy variegated lily. I would suggest using this plant if you find your tropical garden has far too much green foliage, as its variegated strap-like leaves will provide a colour break.
The spider lily gets its name from its unique spidery white flowers, which also have a delicate perfume. This is a highly desirable plant and well worth looking for in local nurseries.
Liriope Stripey White is a very showy variegated evergreen grass with green and white stripes. It will grow to 50cm high and the wide in most garden positions. The white flowers will make a great contrast with the variegated foliage and should flower throughout the year. Ideal as a border around garden beds, pool or driveways or as a ground cover around other plants.
Lomanda Seascape will bear yellow flower spears in summer that has a sweet aromatic scent. Lomandra Seascape will grow in either a full sun or part shade positions with an approximate height of 50cm and a spread of 75cm in your garden. You could use Lomandra Seascape as a single feature in a garden, or as a mass planting to give a Mediterranean feel to your landscape.
Tulbaghia violacea or Society Garlic forms a small grass like clump with narrow leaves and large clusters of small fragrant, violet flowers. This member of the Onion family has either blue-green or variegated foliage. Very hardy in the right position but does need protection from the afternoon sun and frost.
Maybe it is time for a change for some of the edging plants in your garden. A visit to a local nursery will produce an extraordinary range of clumping plants available to the local gardeners.
