Donn,

You're taxing my feeble brain trying to rememeber when I planed this grass. I believe this is it's 3rd year in this spot, 4th year I have had it in total. When I bought it, it was in a 2 gallon pot so I would think there was a year of growth on it there, don't you think ?

This year is has really filled out and I would think the foliage is about 5' wide. The base is about 3 feet in circumference. The photo you have there was taken in 2005 about June timeframe so you can see the difference about a eyar makes.

I would think 5 feet on center would be perfect. I just had to dig up the "Happy Returns" daylilies above and split and move them about 3 feet forward to get them out front so they wouldn't be covered by the grass. I'm replanting them tonight. By the way, here's the same grass over the weekend in full bloom. It has flopped a bit because of the heavy rains we have had in the past few weeks.

Blackie

Donn
It's been a while since I took elementary math. Of course I meant diameter in my post above, not circumference. Dopey me...my math teacher daughter would kick my butt if she saw this... ;)

By the way, is this going in that new circular bed you made ? How are things going with that..any new pictures ??

Blackie

Thanks, Blackie. Into the center it'll go. I guess I'll do a few small grasses and spring bulbs around the perimeter of the bed to fill the space until 'Gracillimus' grows up. I have 10 of them which were 3" pots in early summer. They're nearly 2' tall already.

It's incredible how fast they grow, isn't it ?

I knew what you meant, Blackie.

This 5' bed isn't the big mandala bed. This one is new, and in the front yard, made with sod I dug out of a path in the back yard.

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I made three new beds with all the sod I cut up. The foreground bed has been planted with a row of Salix 'Britzensis' fronted by a row of Pennisetum fronted by a row of Eragrostis spectabilis. Here's what it looked like in May, right after I planted it:

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I'll snap a shot of it later, when the sun hits it.

The mandala bed is acting as a nursery right now. The paths are full of potted grasses and other plants, with a temporary drip irrigation system. I'll finish planting it this fall and next spring. Here's what it looks like this morning:

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You guys, Donn especially, are going to be out of space for any turf in no time at all! Donn, you must be thinking of going into business?? I just tallied up all the grass divisions that I 'could' sell next spring. I could easily come up with over 500 pots (1,2, & 3 gallon).
I think I will wait for another year ~ I'm not quite ready to do all that work next spring.

That's the plan, A. The only turf grass I'll have is a running circle for the dog in the frontyard, and some grass pathways between beds. The side and back will all be beds with woodchip paths.

I've sold quite a few grasses and other plants this year. Some have been seedgrown grass plugs to a local nursery, and others to passers-by and neighbors. The bulk of these, however, will go into my own beds, or to trades for other plants and grasses.

Here's a little better picture of the new bed, when I planted it in May:

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The plantings were a row of 7 Salix 'Britzensis' cuttings, 8 Pennisetum alopecuroides and 12 Eragrostis spectabilis. The grasses were seedgrown last year.

Here it is today:

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The Eragrostis is blooming nicely, but the Pennisetum hasn't bloomed yet. The Salix have all rooted, but are going slowly so far. They'll get cut down late next winter, and should send up several 5'+ shoots each. Then next winter, they'll make a lovely hedge of bright red-barked stems behind the grasses.