Methods of using cereals in landscape design.

Mixborder

In such a flowerbed, several types of plants are planted in a stepped order, which makes the design of the garden plot more harmonious and diverse. Cereals and cereal grasses (sedges, rushes, ryegrass) are grown in a mixborder for the texture of the panicles and thin foliage. They add “airiness” to the flowerbed and go well with any plants.

Grains can also be combined with each other: gardeners love barley, large-spiked foxtail, and lagurus ovata.

Around garden paths

In small gardens, with the right choice of “neighbor” for cereals, you can create a picturesque border for a winding path, thereby visually increasing the area of the site. Thanks to tall cereals and multi-tiered compositions, the garden will seem more spacious. Combine reed grass and astilbe with monarda, Chinese miscanthus and verbena, blue fescue and woolly stachys.

The aromatic ground cover sage looks spectacular next to the cereals near garden paths, and also does not require special care.

Rose garden

It would seem that noble roses cannot be combined with simple grasses, but this is not so. Rose bushes are successfully combined with fescue, oats, pearl grass, molinia and miscanthus. Ornamental cereal grasses (barley, mountain sedge) perfectly set off the elegance of roses and serve as a good background for them.

Cereal crops can be selected for low groundcover roses, and for lush bushes, and for climbing varieties.

Meadow

If you want to recreate a corner of wild nature on your site, plant grain grasses in your garden. Ecodesign and “natural” gardens are in fashion now – they are the complete opposite of strict, verified flower beds with thoughtful geometry and resemble a steppe landscape.

Despite the apparent chaos, the “naturgarden” meadow in garden design should look organic. Most cereal crops disperse and grow quickly, so their cultivation requires special control from the gardener.

Near the pond

Cereal grasses look aesthetically pleasing near ponds and pools, planted next to junipers, geyheras, geraniums and other suitable plants. They look impressive until late autumn, and in warm regions they retain their beauty in winter. Phalaris reed, sedge filiform, miscanthus like to grow near water.

Cereals grow abundantly near the pond, reaching large sizes. Some crops do not require additional watering, feeding on moisture from the soil, as well as evaporating water.

In separate groups

Some cereals, for example, the reed molinia, look great without companions: it is decorative on its own. Such plants can be planted in groups or solitaires – they will add volume and texture to the garden, accentuating the space.

Caring for cereals is the same as for other garden plants – they need to be weeded in a timely manner, loosened and watered if necessary.

In containers

Steppe grasses are often used by florists when creating bouquets. How to use this technique in landscape design? Decorate the area around the house, porch, gazebo or veranda with a couple of tall pots, planting flowering plants in combination with cereals. You will get an attractive live bouquet that will please the eye for a long time.

Lush cereal grasses look great alone, planted in modern laconic flowerpots.

Zoning

If the area is large, planting tall cereal crops will be an excellent way to zone the vast space and give it a cozy feel. Cereals are rarely considered plants suitable for protection, but they are quite easy to create luxurious garden screens.

Grasses will not make a dense hedge, but for visually dividing patios, gazebos and lounge areas, cereals are ideal.

In alpine gardens or rockeries

Grasses go perfectly with stones, creating a magnificent background for large boulders and monoliths. To recreate a mountain landscape, the most hardy types of cereals that can survive on a small rocky plot of land are planted.

Compact grasses that love the sun and are not afraid of drought fit best into an alpine slide. Suitable plants include blue fescue, alpine foxtail, bulbous ryegrass, and glauca keleria.

Near buildings

Cereals look great against the background of building facades and are often used instead of a flower bed. Due to their airiness, plants successfully soften the strict lines of buildings – houses, sheds or fences. In this way, they smooth out the landscape, helping to unite the buildings and the landscape into a single composition.

Tall cereal crops can serve as an additional hedge for wooden fences or corrugated sheet fences.

To make your country house plot stand out from the rest, decorate it with ornamental grasses. They look great in any corner of the garden, making it unique.