Stormwater Project: Planting some grass

We stopped by the PNW garden at Pt. Defiance to see some local plants in the wild, but the gate was locked; so we went to Portland Ave. Nursery to view a wide selection of good base plants for the rain garden. We resisted temptation and only selected a few large grasses for now; I dug some holes and we got them in the ground with a quality planting soil.

I better record the names of the plants as I go or I’ll forget them for sure. The one closest to the camera is Sundowner New Zealand Flax (Phormium ‘Sundowner’); it is an evergreen plant that grows 5 ft. tall, 4-6 ft. wide, and blooms in summer. The two in the middle of the photo are Pampas Grass (Cortaderia ‘Silver Feather’); they grow 5-8 ft. high, 2-3 ft. wide, and bloom in summer to winter. The plant in the background is Cabaret Japanese Silver Grass (Miscanthus sinensis ‘Cabaret’); it will grow 7 ft. high and 4 ft. wide; coppery plumes appear in early fall.

This view shows our new plants, with some potted flowers we found earlier in the summer. They fit in well and should make the back yard look good in the near future.