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If there’s a garden grass that your average gardener knows by name, it’s ‘Karl Foerster’. This eponymous creation of the legendary plantsman was the first ornamental grass named Perennial Plant of the Year.Naturally, we know (and grow) lots more, but this is the one to know if you know only one. It’s famous worldwide for its beauty, adaptability and ease of culture.Prolific breeder and author Karl Foerster (1874-1970) introduced over 600 plants and wrote two dozen books. His breeding motto was “

We grow so much Pennisetum xadvena 'Rubrum' – bench after bench, whole greenhouses full of it – that we sometimes wonder where it all goes. And then we take a drive, anywhere in North America, and there it is!‘Rubrum’ is so well-known it barely needs an introduction. It’s that red-leaved annual grass you see everywhere you go: In big containers on Main Street, waving its burgundy blades and matching foxtail flowers in landscapes public and private, surrounding flagpoles, flanking entra

Call us biased, but we think every garden should include grasses.We know some don’t, but we’re working on it.Call us crazy, or lazy, but y’know what else we think?We think gardeners and landscapers should leave grasses right where they are in fall. Let ‘em stand. Ignore them while you do other cleanup chores. Ornamental grasses provide movement, interest and sound even in winter, even when dormant, just as they did all summer. Standing proudly through a blanket of snow, they give gardeners some