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Garden Guru: Get Your Golden Oats

 I am a bit of a late comer to ornamental grasses – it went against the grain to put grass in a border when I spent a fair bit of time weeding it out. But I was wrong and grasses are an established element now in every ...

 I am a bit of a late comer to ornamental grasses – it went against the grain to put grass in a border when I spent a fair bit of time weeding it out. But I was wrong and grasses are an established element now in every gardener’s horticultural palette.

I first understood the special beauty of grasses when I came across their use in hot dry environments.  This garden outside Marrakesh by Luciano Giubbilei is filled with graphic squares of  fluffy Fountain Grass, which shimmer in the strong sunlight. I love this interplay between grasses and light and the absolute Queen of Light for me is Stipa Gigantea – known as Golden Oats.

Walking through the desiccated beauty of the countryside in central Spain one late summer I came across the wondrous sight of drifts of this grass amongst bright white rocky outcrops and a block of blue, blue sky. The sun played through the tall stems and delicate flower heads – it was a fabulous sight which I have never forgotten.
We may not have the same intensity of light in England but it still looks great. And the really good news is that it is a pretty undemanding plant.

Oriental grasses are pretty much bullet-proof as far as pests and diseases go. Few require special treatment or pampering to perform, so they should be near the top of the list of plants to use for anyone with limited time to lavish on their garden. Stipa gigantea is no different, providing it is planted in a sunny spot and in well-drained soil. Maintenance is straightforward: cut the flowering stems back to the main clump in spring and lightly trim the foliage if starts to look tatty.

Because it’s a plant of rough and rocky places there is no need to feed or fertilise S. gigantea and it doesn’t need watering either, even in the hottest of summers. In the right conditions the golden oat grass will bulk up quickly into a decent-sized clump, which can be lifted and divided every three to four years, from spring until early summer.

If you have a gap in your border why not try one of these shimmering beauties?

 

 

 

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