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In this Issue:
- Focus on Natives - Wildlife, traditional uses, and tough sites
- Three Outstanding Plants for Containers - Pot up for spring sales
- Pro Plant Picks - Designers highlight their grass choices
- Green Infrastructure Update - What's working, grass trials, and more
- Join Our Team - new open positions and internship deadline March 1
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Broomsedge has a long history of being useful. |
Focus on Natives
Plant a Wildflower Pollinator Garden
Wildflower Farm in southern Ontario is known for its sustainable approach to gardening. Founder Miriam Goldberger shares ten garden design tips for establishing a pollinator wildflower garden. And of course, grasses are the foundation for a successful planting.
Read on.
Harvesting Brooms
It's ubiquitous on roadsides, in fields, and in open woodlands. But Broomsedge doesn't get much attention.
Andropogon virginicus is a beautiful grass that supports wildlife and has a long history of uses back to early humans.
Learn more.
Warm Season Grasses and Wildlife
Grasses play an important role in supporting wildlife, especially birds. This PennState Extension fact sheet explains their role and gives techniques for establishing and maintaining warm season grasses for agricultural and wildlife use.
Get the article.
Grasses Under a Black Walnut
It's a problem...planting under a Black Walnut Tree, which produces the growth-inhibiting chemical, juglone. Turns out, most grasses are tolerant of juglone, but there's still the problem of a dry site and root competition. Grass expert, Dr. Mary Meyer, suggests several native grasses that fit the bill.
Read more.
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Three Outstanding Plants for Containers
As spring approaches, everyone thinks more about being outdoors. And that means beautiful containers for their terraces, patios, and porches. These three plants thrive in containers and look gorgeous solo or in combination planters.
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Carex testacea 'Prairie Fire' |
Prairie Fire Sedge creates a fiery display of color. Its upright, slender, green-bronze foliage is tipped with orange highlights. In full sun this deep orange coloring intensifies, creating a bold look that blends well with hot-colored perennials in containers.
Quick Facts: Cool season, green-bronze foliage w/orange highlights, height 2', sun, moist, Zones 5-9, Origin: New Zealand
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Hakonechloa macra 'Aureola' |
Hakonechloa macra 'Aureola'
Beautiful and elegant, this low-growing grass brings refinement, good taste, and color to shady areas. Golden leaves with intermittent green lines flow downward like a bright waterfall.
Quick Facts:
Warm season, golden-variegated foliage, height 1.5-2 feet, sun-shade (more shade in warmer climates), moist, Zones 4-7, Origin: Japan
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Juncus effusus 'Big Twister' |
Juncus effusus 'Big Twister'
Big, beautiful, thick, round, and smooth describes the fun foliage of Giant Corkscrew Rush. It is taller and more upright than other curly rushes.
Quick Facts:
Green foliage, height 1.5'-2', sun, moist-4" of water, Zones 4-9, Origin: North America
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Prairie Dropseed is one of the grasses profiled in the Winter issue of The Designer. |
Pro Plant Picks
The Association of Professional Landscape Designers (APLD) profiled four grasses in the winter edition of their online magazine. Designers help set the trends, and we love seeing what they're recommending.
Each of the four grasses is described by a designer from a different part of the country--Cheri Stringer from the Intermountain region, Lani Woodruff from the Midwest, Susan Cohan from the Northeast, and Rebecca Sweet from the West. It makes for an interesting mix.
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Green Infrastructure Update
Tools, Strategies and Lessons Learned
What's working with green infrastructure? The
EPA has published a report summarizing successful solutions to stormwater managment and climate resiliency. Focusing on projects where the EPA has provided technical assistance, the report gives inspiration to communities working towards cleaner water, better health, and improved quality of life.
The report includes an overview of green infrastructure and ways it's making a difference across the country. Get the
EPA report.
Stormwater Management and Grasses
As horticulturists, we know plants are key to successful rain gardens. In the Pacific Northwest, plants in rain gardens must tolerate wet winters and dry summers, ideally without supplemental irrigation.
Research at the Washington State University Research and Extension Center in Puyallup is evaluating plant species and cultivars for different zones in rain gardens. Grass species include turf-type and more ornamental selections. A recent paper outlines preliminary results from their research.
See what they found.
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A rendering of a proposed blue-green corridor in the Gentilly Resiliency District. (Waggoner & Ball Architects) Greg LaRose, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune |
New Orleans District is Handling Stormwater Differently New Orleans recently received a $141 million grant to try a new twist. Traditional methods of flood control rely on holding water behind levees and floodwalls. In the Gentilly Resiliency District, a new approach will treat water differently. A large portion of the money will be directed toward water features that employ natural systems to reduce flood risks and allow for the absorption of groundwater. And that requires convincing citizens to think differently, too.
Read more about the new plan.
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Join Our Team!
It's an exciting time at Hoffman Nursery. We're expanding, and that means bringing more people onto our team.
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Open Positions
We've added another open position at the nursery. See postings for four permanent positions:
- Head Grower
- Section Grower
- Sales and Customer Service Assistant
- Office Assistant
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Summer Internship 2016
We have a full-time internship available for this summer. It is intended to help a self-motivated student or recent graduate learn about the general management of a wholesale ornamental and native grass nursery.
Application deadline is March 1.
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Download Availability & Order Form
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Find prices for individual liners, the number of liners in stock, future availability, and our order form on these Excel® and Adobe PDF® files.
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