Miscanthus Grasses
The ornamental Miscanthus grasses I planted at the top of the Island Bed all those years ago are finally bulking out nicely. This garden used to be shaded by the tall shelter belt of pines and gums, Not any more - they've all been felled. 'Sun' cried the two Miscanthus grasses. 'Finally!' And they've celebrated their change of fortune in style. I love them.
Miscanthus in the Island Bed
Finding out which varieties they are has been interesting. With a little Google detective work and some light delving into the gardening memory (which can be decidedly flaky), one comes up with possible variety names. Checking the journal is not so satisfactory - guess who didn't record which Miscanthus it was, all those years ago! Little me.
One will be the variety 'Variegata' (I found an old label, deep in a kitchen drawer, and the leaf form fits the description). And the finer leafed one is likely to be the variety 'Morning Light'. Very few other varieties seem to be available on the New Zealand nursery websites. So that's that, then!
Scholarly Miscanthus articles...
interesting. Miscanthus has quite a few so-called 'scholarly articles'. It can be used as a shelter planting, an alternative biofuel, possibly as a stock feed. And something I should have known but didn't - in autumn-winter the birds eat the seeds in the seed-heads. I've never noticed that. Perhaps my birds have lots of other pickings from weed seeds, paddock grass seeds, etc.