Working outside in my garden today, I noticed how the sun sat lower in the sky, casting long shadows through the trees onto the lawn and down the driveway. Long shadows can only mean one thing. Summer is in its homestretch. Autumn is around the corner.

Panicum virgatum 'Northwind'

The weather has finally decided to stop showing off its prowess, and is becoming more amenable. Temperatures are no longer oppressive, at least not today. And while most of the garden is starting to look a little fizzled out, some other plants are just beginning their performance on the garden stage. Of all other plants, no one would argue that the ornamental grass in bloom is the harbinger of autumn.

Of course, ornamental grasses do not really bloom in the sense of a flower as we know it. But they do have what is called an inflorescence, that magical, smoky puff that seems to dance at the slightest hint of a breeze. In general, ornamental grasses have much to offer a gardener. Ornamental grasses are hardy, distasteful to deer, and drought tolerant.

They are also captivating by offering an element of movement, softness, and grace to the garden. Ornamental grasses engage different senses; they are enchanting to watch as they move, their soft inflorescences are irresistible to touch, and when the wind blows, the rustling of the grass is at once captivating and comforting, whispering its secrets to all who venture by.

In general, you cannot go wrong with planting a native grass. As with any plant, be sure to water newly planted grasses weekly until they are established. But once your grasses are established go ahead and get yourself a glass of iced tea, because there will be little or no care on your part. You will not need to fertilize or worry about pests. Supplemental water will probably not be necessary (I have not watered any of my grasses so far this year). You will only have to remember to cut the grass in late winter about six inches from the ground, before the new grass blades begin to grow.

Although some of the most widely used grasses in gardens today are not native, there are many native grasses to choose from. Unlike grasses that are not native to our region (such as Miscanthus and Pennisetum), native grasses are beneficial to wildlife. Many seed-eating birds, such as song sparrows, purple finches, and American goldfinches, love to perch on the thin strands of grasses, plucking away at the seeds. Ground-feeding birds, such as dark-eyed juncos, white-throated sparrows, and Eastern towhees, will happily flock to your yard to scratch the ground in garden beds filled with native grasses.

In fact, more than 20 species of birds rely on the seeds of native grasses to provide them with nourishment throughout the winter months. In addition, non-cultivated varieties of our native grasses are host plants to the skipper type butterflies. Without native grasses, our skippers would simply vanish.

There are so many beautiful native grasses to choose from. Ranging from less than ten inches tall to over six feet tall, there are native grasses that would suit nearly any gardener. Here are some that I enjoy growing in my garden.

Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum)

By far, the most popular native grass is switchgrass, Panicum virgatum. This grass is popular for good reason. It begins blooming early in August and continues to look fabulous through most of the winter. Its inflorescences consist of numerous tiny seed heads that look like puffs of tawny smoke. Its grass blades tend to stay upright and the entire grass gives an appealing softness to the flower border. The native species is quite beautiful and needs no embellishment, but why stop there. Breeders have introduced many varieties of switchgrass that offer different colors, sizes, or even structures.

Panicum virgatum ‘Heavy Metal’

Some of my favorites include the following. ‘Dallas Blues’ and ‘Heavy Metal’ both have steely blue grass blades. ‘Dallas Blues’ has maroon seed heads and can grow to five feet, while ‘Heavy Metal’ is more compact and grows to about 4 feet tall with tan seed heads. By contrast, ‘Red Ribbons’ and ‘Shenandoah’ sport reddish grass blades with either maroon or tan seed heads. Both are lovely and would look stunning with other maroon flowers to bring out their reddish foliage. Other cultivated varieties include names like ‘Northwind’, which can handle strong winds and stay upright, and ‘Cloud Nine’, which has extra long seed panicles.

Panicum virgatum 'Dallas Blues'

Whichever variety you choose, you cannot go wrong. All are magnificent border specimens. So why not go ahead and try a few of them. Switchgrass looks great mixed with other grasses and with late blooming flowers, such as asters, black-eyed Susans, and Joe Pye weed. Try a combination of ‘Dallas Blues’ with goldenrod, New York ironweed and black-eyed Susan

Little Bluestem and Indian Grass

Two other tall native grasses worth mentioning and that are great additions to the autumn garden are Indian grass, Sorghastrum nutans, and big bluestem, Andropogon gerardii. Indian grass is a beautiful plant with wide green foliage. Its inflorescences are exquisite, its bronze seed heads intermingle with golden dangling seeds that look like petals, or to me resemble tiny dangling gold earrings. The combination of the fluttering yellow ‘petals’ with the feathery bronze seeds is stunning.

Schizachyrium scoparium, Little Bluestem

Give Indian grass some room, as it will spread and form a clump about three feet in diameter. Its foliage does not stand quite as tall as other grasses, and does not stand straight up, but rather weeps in soft flowing arches. However, when in bloom, its seed heads stand straight up and can grow to over five feet tall.

Big bluestem is also a winner of a grass and a superb addition to the easy care garden. This grass boasts silvery blue foliage and can grow from three feet tall to an astounding nine feet tall. However, big bluestem does not display its full splendor until autumn, when the seed heads and the grass blades turn a brilliant coppery orange. This grass forms a clump that can grow to more than three feet in width, so be sure to place this beauty toward the back and give it some room. In addition, its seed heads turn into a silvery fluff, which adds to the dramatic effect of this captivating grass.

Moving toward the shorter end of the spectrum, another native grass that is a favorite of mine is little bluestem. Although its botanical name is a mouthful, Schizachirium scoparium, little bluestem is a bit more diminutive than the typical ornamental grass, staying a petite 24 to 30 inches tall without trying to overrun its neighbors. However, its mannerly behavior belies its character, for in autumn the diminutive little bluestem turns from a light blue to a warm nectarine before finally turning a soft dusky tan in winter.

This grass is truly beautiful in all seasons of its growth. Emerging late in spring, its foliage stays a silvery blue through summer. Sometimes the tips of the leaves are marked with shades of maroon or purple. In autumn, it sends up shoots of tan seed heads which, just like its cousin the big bluestem, turn into puffs of silvery fluff that glow against the backdrop of its apricot foliage.

Throughout winter, the entire plant mellows into a warm beige and holds its foliage upright through snow and sleet until finally laying down for a rest in late winter. Since little bluestem is such a stunning plant, I recommend planting it in groups of three, five or more. This plant really adds interest to the autumn garden when grouped with other native grasses and late blooming flowers, such as goldenrods, blazing stars, and asters. There are a number of cultivated varieties of this grass as well, with names like ‘The Blues’, ‘Prairie Blues’ and ‘Carousel’. All are great additions to the late season border.

Purple Love Grass

Another short native grass is called purple love grass, Eragrostis spectabilis. This grass is unusual in that it is very compact, only growing to a foot tall and wide. I typically use this grass in the front of the border, and since it does form a neat mound, I have used it as an edging plant. Its foliage is also a little different than most grasses, being that it has wide green fronds that stand erect, making the plant look like a little, round, green porcupine.

However, in fall, there is no longer any reason to poke fun at this little grass. By September, purple love grass sends up numerous tiny purple seed heads that completely envelope the plant in a purple cloud. No wonder it has a name like purple love grass. You simply can not help but fall in love with it. This little wonder looks fantastic in a border with some New York ironweed in the background, where it will bring out the purple hues throughout the garden bed.

Sporobolus heterolepis, Prairie Dropseed

There are many more native grasses to choose from. All are unique and offer exciting and appealing characteristics to the fall garden. Be sure to check out the Baysafe tags when shopping and pick out a variety of native grasses. They are all worthwhile garden plants which are easy to care for. But most of all, these grasses care for our native wildlife and will bring you new butterflies and birds to your yard.

Natalie Brewer
Master Gardener

Asclepias tuberosa, 'Butterfly Weed'

Most people are familiar with milkweed as the host plant for the Monarch butterfly. However, milkweed is so much more than just a butterfly plant. Milkweeds are one of our most stunning and attractive native wildflowers. Boasting fantastically bold colors such as luscious orange and creamy-lipstick pink, milkweeds are garden gems that no landscape should be without.

[Note from the Behnke Perennial Buyer: we try to have Asclepias tuberosa in stock in season, which is late April through August. Right now we have several dozen at Behnke’s at Beltsville, a handful at Potomac. Asclepias incarnata is most easy to obtain in April and May. Being tall, while it is nice in the ground, the latter tends to be unattractive in a pot in the summer. There are a few at Potomac.]

Asclepias tuberosa, 'Butterfly Weed'

Three milkweeds are indigenous to our area, but only two are widely available through retail nurseries. The most popular is butterfly weed, Asclepias tuberosa. Butterfly weed is an easy-care beauty for the sunny border. Laughing at drought, deer, and disease, this plant is as maintenance-free as it gets. With a color reminiscent of juicy oranges, butterfly weed is one of those seventy-mile-an-hour plants, meaning you can still see it from your car while driving down the highway at seventy miles an hour.

The show-stopping blooms on this plant aren’t the only attribute to this garden-winner. The butterfly weed in my garden has withstood temperatures hovering close to and above the one hundred degree mark, without even so much as a hint of rain, and it still looks as fresh and cool as a tall glass of orange juice.

Butterfly weed can grow from two to three feet tall and belongs in the front or middle of the border. Even though the blossoms are bold, butterfly weed blooms are not brash and look great paired with nearly any other color. For a show-stopping combination, try it with Liatris spicata, blazing star. The purple spikes of blazing star combined with the flat-topped orange flowers of butterfly weed are a stunning arrangement. Add some Panicum virgatum, switchgrass, for a soft background and some movement, and you have a native butterfly garden that will be the envy of the neighborhood.

Asclepias incarnata 'Swamp Milkweed'

On the other hand, as its name suggests, swamp milkweed, Asclepias incarnata, requires a bit more moisture to keep it happy. However, swamp milkweed is no less a winner. Its beautiful rosy pink flowers lend a touch of tenderness and charm to the perennial border. Growing taller than its cousin the butterfly weed, swamp milkweed can easily reach three feet tall. Pair it with some yellow Coreopsis verticillata ‘Moonbeam’ or Rudbeckia fulgida, otherwise known as black-eyed Susan. Add some Perovskia atriplicifolia, Russian sage, for the background; and you have just created an eye-catching vignette that will certainly catch the attention of all the butterflies in the neighborhood.

Milkweeds are most often known as the host plants for the dynamic orange and black monarch butterfly. The color of the butterfly, and its familiar white-yellow-and black-striped caterpillar, advertise its toxicity to predators and therefore keep it safe from marauding birds. Monarch butterflies can only survive on milkweed plants and follow the milkweed trail north in spring and back south in the fall during their extraordinary and implausible migration. So planting milkweeds in our landscapes will help the monarch butterflies to survive their impossibly long journey. However, monarchs are not the only insect that survives on milkweed. The elegant look-alike Queen butterfly is also dependent on milkweed as its larval host.

In addition, many curiously beautiful beetles enjoy milkweeds, such as the aptly named milkweed beetle, which resembles an oblong, whiskered ladybug with its red body and black polka dots. This beetle is a beauty to behold and, unfazed by close human contact, seems to stop and smile for my camera lens as I lean in close for a picture. But most of all, milkweeds offer the sweet, nutritious nectar that so many butterflies and other pollinators long for. Adding a few milkweed plants to your garden is almost like adding an entire butterfly garden in one plant. Butterflies, skippers, beetles, beeflies, and other pollinators dance from one flower to the next in utter delight, blissfully intoxicated by their drink of preference. It’s like a pollinator party!

In addition to feeding multiple insects by being a host plant and a nectar source, milkweeds produce soft downy fibers in late summer when their seeds mature. In nature, this down helps the seeds get carried off by gusts of wind so that new milkweed colonies can become established further away from the competition of the parent plants. These downy fibers are used by birds, particularly the American goldfinch, to line their nests and create soft cozy cups for their precious offspring. American goldfinches build their nests late in the summer when seeds become available as a food source, and when most other bird species have finished caring for their nestlings, so the silky milkweed fibers are available at the same time as the goldfinches are building their first nests of the season.

The fibers, although soft, are also strong, and historically have been used in textiles for making rope and twine. Sometimes the downy seed heads were used instead of feathers for stuffing beds and cushions. And since the downy fibers looked like soft, fine fur, they were also used in making hats. If you allow the seeds to mature and burst open in your own garden, you may be rewarded with some new plants the following spring. But be aware, milkweeds are slow to emerge in spring, and just when you thought your plants did not make it through the winter, they will finally awaken from their deep sleep. Mature milkweeds don’t like to be transplanted, since they have a long taproot, so transplant seedlings when they are still young to encourage success.

So if you are looking to add some new plants to your garden, why not try one of the milkweed species? Even if you already have some milkweed in your garden, studies show that butterflies find plants more easily that are grouped together, so it would be a good idea to add more milkweed plants to your landscape this year. The butterflies and goldfinches will thank you for it.

Natalie Brewer
Master Gardener

Coreopsis verticillata 'Moonbeam'

How would you like a plant that is drought tolerant, is heat tolerant, blooms for weeks, is deer resistant, is native, and is a butterfly magnet?  Does this sound too good to be true?  Well, if you haven’t tried Coreopsis verticillata yet, then it should be on your next plant-shopping list.  Coreopsis verticillata is known by many other names, such as thread leaf coreopsis, tickseed, whorled coreopsis, and pot of gold.  But I think it should be named ‘the sun, the moon and the stars’ plant, because it offers so much in exchange for so little.

Coreopsis verticillata is a perfect little plant.  Just plant it in a sunny location and it will gratefully respond by blooming with unabashed enthusiasm, beginning in early June and continuing for weeks.  When the first flush of bloom is over, shear it back lightly and you will be rewarded with more flowers in a couple of weeks. With attention, it will bloom on and off throughout the summer.  Its fern-like foliage is delicate, but don’t underestimate the vigor of this little plant by its dainty looks.  Coreopsis is not fussy about soil conditions and does not need much water once it is established.  When other plants are wilting and looking tired from the heat and humidity, coreopsis continues to look as fresh as a cool breeze.

Coreopsis verticillata 'Moonbeam'

The native species, Coreopsis verticillata, can become two to three feet tall and has glistening golden blooms.  However, there are also cultivated varieties, such as Coreopsis ‘Moonbeam’, which was named the Perennial Plant of the Year in 1992 by the Perennial Plant Association.  Its flowers are a soft yellow and blend well with both pastel and bright color combinations in the garden.  The color of the flowers reminds me of sweet, creamy, whipped butter. ‘Moonbeam’ plants maintain a height of about two feet.  Another tried-and-true cultivar is Coreopsis ‘Zagreb,’ which is shorter and grows to about one foot tall with bright yellow flowers that look like little golden stars.

Coreopsis verticillata 'Zagreb'

In the garden, coreopsis can be successfully combined with many other summer blooming perennials and annuals.  I particularly like the combination of the soft yellow Coreopsis ‘Moonbeam’ with bright pink garden phlox (Phlox paniculata).  Or Coreopsis ‘Zagreb’ with its golden flowers can look stunning when planted with a purple-flowering plant, such as Blazing Star (Liatris spicata).  I am also fond of any coreopsis planted en- masse in front of a green backdrop, such as in front of a group of arborvitae, Thuja occidentalis.  The dark green arborvitae make the coreopsis flowers really pop.  Since its foliage is so fine, I recommend planting coreopsis in swathes or in groups so that its beauty is visible from a distance.

Perhaps the best attribute of this tough little plant is its unfailing ability to attract pollinating insects.  Coreopsis is a butterfly magnet and would be a wonderful addition to your butterfly garden.  Hungry butterflies, skippers, and other pollinators eagerly fly from flower to flower drinking the sweet nectar.  Birds are fond of the seeds that form in the summer and can be seen in autumn pecking at the seeds on the ground under the plants.  In fact, the only wildlife that is not a fan of coreopsis may be white-tailed deer.  They prefer other plants and will most likely leave your coreopsis untouched.

So the next time you are looking for an easy addition to your garden, try thread leaf coreopsis, tickseed, whorled coreopsis, or pot of gold.  Or, as I like to call it, go for ‘the sun, the moon, and the stars’ plant, Coreopsis verticillata.

by Natalie Brewer, Master Gardener.  Photos by Larry Hurley.