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Panicum (Switch grass)Indigenous American grasses aren’t just for native plant enthusiasts. Tough and carefree, clump-forming, warm-season “switch grass” is perfectly at home in any sunny landscape. Its surprisingly formal-looking upright habit works in masses, or as specimens punctuating the perennial border. Panicum virgatum Ruby Ribbons™ (‘RR1’) PP17944Bred at the University of Connecticut, Ruby Ribbons™ comes by its good looks honestly. One of its parents is the best-selling ‘He

Miscanthus Bandwidth™ Will Bandwidth™ magically endow the border with wifi? Probably not, but the broad bands of gold on its stiff, upright blades guarantee great garden and retail reception. And it’s infertile -- functionally sterile – so you won’t need to block any pesky pop-ups.No other grass crams more gold bars into such a small space. Rising just 3’ at maturity, the rich green foliage is heavily cross-hatched for a dazzling sunlit display. It’s the perfect hotspot for

Talk about intoxicating beauty! Spirits and flowers go together like, well, like wine and roses. Today’s Happy Hour special is one of our favorite ornamental grasses. Like the others in this category, it shares its name with some interesting adult beverages.  The PlantAndropogon gerardii ‘Rain Dance’Gardeners and designers know: Nothing brings movement to the border like ornamental grasses. This native variety, an ECG exclusive, dances up a storm in the slightest breeze.‘Rain Dance’ f

If there’s a sedge worth screaming about, it may just be ‘Ice Cream’.This garden confection’s winning recipe features minty green stripes alternating with creamy white stripes. Its neat, mounded, spherical habit completes the picture.But don’t keep it in a bowl. Serve it up in a decorative container, or sprinkled generously around the border. ‘Ice Cream’ stands a tidy 12” tall, and is hardy in Zones 6 – 9. And it won’t melt in sun or part shade.Order up a heaping helping of this cool Carex. No n

Echinacea purpurea and hybridsOf all the native plants that have gone from America’s prairies to the world’s gardens, few have a history to rival that of the purple coneflower.For many years gardeners had two choices: Pinky-purple, and Not-quite-white. Then came 2002, when breeder Jim Ault of Chicago introduced the first orange and yellow hybrids. That was the genus’s Big Bang, and like the universe, it’s still expanding.Now, you can have your “purple” coneflowers in myriad hues, solids and bi c