Add simple colour, texture, and motion to your lawn by adding New Zealand wind grass (Anemanthele lessoniana) on your design. Landscape architect Jeffrey Gordon Smith uses this feathery perennial for many residential design projects in the western United States, and finds its great looks and low maintenance demands are always the subject of praise. “I would say 1 bud that we receive the most remarks about in our landscapes is Anemanthele lessoniana,” he states.
Jeffrey Gordon Smith Landscape Architecture
Botanical name: Anemanthele lessoniana (syn. Stipa arundinacea)
Common names: New Zealand wind bud, pheasant’s-tail bud
USDA zones: 8-10
Water requirement: Typical to non
Sun requirement: Full sun to partial shade
Mature size: 36″ x 36″
Tolerances: Deer, drought, pollution, slopes, wind
Jeffrey Gordon Smith Landscape Architecture
Distinguishing attributes. The colour of Anemanthele lessoniana is a gorgeous addition to any landscape year-round, especially in autumn and winter when its olive green foliage transforms into a gorgeous sunset of golds and oranges. “Its gold color can blend in with the gold California slopes, or offer that bold pop of orange shade against a green or grey plant colour,” Smith states.
The graceful and arching shape of the grass is similar to many other perennial grasses. The wispy foliage adds a general lightness to any landscape — especially beneficial to a space dominated by heavy structure or other solid or overpowering structures. “We’ve chosen this bud for many of our projects due to its soft all-natural kind,” Smith states. “It’s a stunning grass that plays beautifully in the end. In many ways it is reminiscent of a native deer bud.”
Jeffrey Gordon Smith Landscape Architecture
The best way to use it. Versatility is an integral feature of New Zealand wind grass.Whether utilized for a street bud, specimen plant, desktop massing, as well as strictly because of its textural contrast, this bud lends itself into the structure any home, irrespective of style.
For a contemporary landscape, stiff and geometric rows of well-manicured specimens create a sense of sequence, while an overgrown hillside massing instantly brings to mind a more rustic and casual setting.
Jeffrey Gordon Smith Landscape Architecture
Before you plant. Early fall is a good time to plant New Zealand wind bud and other perennials.Keep in your mind the very best plant for the landscape can also be one which works well with your climate and conditions. Smith notes soil heavy in clay is a death sentence to these plants, therefore good drainage is stressed by him above all. If you provide the plant with a little early nurturing, you should enjoy a very long and reasonably maintenance-free life from your New Zealand wind bud.
More: Ornamental Grasses in the Landscape