Ornamental grasses are an essential highlight in today’s low-care, informal, four-season landscapes.  There've been so many species and varieties introduced in the last two decades that unless you’re a grass specialist in a favorable climate (read, “California”) it’s not worth it to keep track of them all.  In the Maritime Northwest, our cool climate limits the usefulness of hot-summer (“prairie” or “California”) species such as Muhlenbergia, Andropogon, Bouteloua,  or Sporobulus, as well as marginally durable selections like Uncinia or Carex flagellifera.  Many Miscanthus don’t flower in our cool summers. 

For your success we stick with the best of the old and new.  Carex testacea (orange sedge aka Prairie Fire sedge) is easily the best evergreen New Zealand sedge for the Maritime Northwest.  We also offer some of the best select forms of Pennisetum alopecuroides (fountain grass), Miscanthus (maiden grass – most of ours typically bloom here), Calamagrostis (reed grass), Molinia (moor grass), Stipa (feather grass), Carex (sedge), Helictotrichon (blue oat grass), Imperata (blood grass), andHakonechloa (Japanese meadow grass).  Nils even grows Spodiopogon (frost grass)just because it’s an awesome hardy midsize grass that turns orange-plum in fall.   

Sundquist Nursery’s meadow border features many grass varieties.  This drought tolerant, low maintenance garden uses hardy plant foliage in unconventional ways, and is one of the region’s largest and most exciting and inspirational displays of grasses combined with perennial and shrub companions.