Remember the earth that I excavated to create the cactus and succulent bed?

Well, I mounded and sculpted a small hill from it down the left side of the garden, and planted three pampas grasses on top, you can barely see this hill now (the Pampas almost totally cover it, they are good at this!). The elevation of these grasses make the plants look even more enormous than they already are and creates a really dramatic effect especially when they are back lit from a setting sun.

A lot of people cut this grass back like other ornamental grasses in the Winter – I used to, but now I just get in there with my bio-hazard suit on and just pull the old dead growth out – it does just fine and retains its’ stature and blooms for interest through our cold winter months.

I learned a lesson trying to trim one of these monsters back – never purchase battery operated “anythings” for use in the garden!  They just don’t “cut it”…even a local pawn shop refused to take my battery powered shears when I wanted to get rid of them!

Hay bales make great foot tables, and when it turns sour and old it makes great compost.

Canna Bloom.

Other show-offs right now:

Ornamental Kale’s and Cabbages are finally finished – they seemed to last forever this year. The heart of this one looks like coral.


And this one was infested with Harlequin Beetles! – great looking but very destructive, this one went straight into the trash. Interestingly the little blighters left the purple cabbages well alone.


Mmm…peppers

This was one lumpy green Anole! another Notre Dame contestant.

Found in Southeastern USA, Cuba, Jamaica, and other Caribbean islands, only the green anole is native to the U.S.

Stay Tuned for:

“The Microcosmic Garden”

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