Rick Darke is a landscape design consultant, author, lecturer and photographer based in Pennsylvania who blends art, ecology and cultural geography in the creation and conservation of liveable landscapes. His projects include scenic byways, public gardens, corporate and collegiate campuses, mixed-use conservation developments and residential gardens. Darke served on the staff of Longwood Gardens for twenty years, and in 1998 he received the Scientific Award of the American Horticultural Society. His work has been featured in the New York Times and on National Public Radio. Darke has studied North American plants in their habitats for over three decades, and his research and lectures have taken him to Africa, Australia, Brazil, Costa Rica, Chile, Japan, New Zealand and northern Europe. His books include The Encyclopedia of Grasses for Livable Landscapes (2007), The American Woodland Garden (2002) and In Harmony with Nature: Lessons from the Arts & Crafts Garden (2000). For further information visit www.rickdarke.com.
Timber Press: In the preface to The Timber Press Pocket Guide to Ornamental Grasses, you mention that ornamental grasses and their role in gardens over the past century have changed greatly. How so?
Rick Darke: Most obviously, there are literally hundreds of species and varieties of ornamental grasses readily available to today's gardeners. A century ago gardeners would have been lucky to find a dozen different types. Just as important, however, is our evolving definition of what a garden is and the role it can play in our lives. Grasses were once relegated to the "wilder" side of naturalistic landscapes, but in this age of diminishing wilderness, we're more ready to trade formality for serendipity in our gardens. The carefree beauty and dynamic nature of ornamental grasses can help us reclaim a bit of that sense of romance and possibility.
TP: You've been studying and designing with grasses for nearly a quarter century now. What would you say are among the most exciting recent developments in the world of ornamental grasses?
RD: I'm delighted that the palette of ornamental grasses is becoming broad enough to allow gardeners to grow grasses characteristic of their regional landscape. I'm lucky to have many opportunities to travel, and when I do, I always look at local gardens and local landscapes. I love seeing California native grasses in California gardens, Texas grasses in Texas Gardens, New England native grasses in New England, and prairie grasses in Prairie state gardens. You don't have to be exclusive about this idea, but I think it makes everyone's life more interesting when each of us takes a little pride in place. My home garden is somewhat eclectic, but I find a lot of joy in growing regionally native grasses that remind me of natural habitats in my local Mid-Atlantic region.
TP: What precisely is meant by the term "ornamental grasses?"
RD: I wish there were a precise answer to that question! Nearly everyone agrees that "ornamental grasses" include a group of closely related monocots: the true grasses (members of the grass family, Poaceae), the sedges (members of the sedge family, Cyperaceae), the rushes and woodrushes (members of the rush family, Juncaceae), cat-tails (members of the cat-tail family, Typhaceae), and restios (members of the Restionaceae). Sometimes the definition of ornamental grasses is expanded to include an eclectic mix of plants withblinear leaves, such as daylilies or liriope, but I've never subscribed to this approach since it has no reasonable limits.
TP: You say that the appeal of ornamental grasses is quite distinct from that of most garden perennials. What sets grasses apart from other garden plants, and what appeal do they carry for gardeners?
RD: Although many grasses do produce spectacular flowering displays, the essential, universal appeal of ornamental grasses is their quality of line. Their typically fine linear leaves, produced in close profusion, create textural effects and forms that are unique among garden plants. And because foliage appeal almost always outlasts flowers, grasses look better for longer periods than the majority of garden perennials. Many ornamental grasses retain their appeal through three or even four seasons.
TP: How can ornamental grasses be used to complement floral displays in a garden?
RD: Ornamental grasses are perfect foils for floral displays. Grasses' fine, linear texture makes for stunning contrast with the bold forms of typical flowers. I often use grasses to create a background "matrix" to set off a procession of garden flowers through the growing season. In winter, or in periods of summer dormancy when flowering is absent, the grasses' steady presence carries the design. In a similar fashion, the relative fine texture of grasses provides a welcome softening effect against the hard surfaces and bold textures of houses and other built structures in the garden. Garden sculpture and ornament often looks best against a grassy background.
TP: Please explain your ideas on environmentally responsible gardening, and how ornamental grasses can lend to that concept. How can ornamental grasses be a boon for gardeners in low-water areas?
RD: As we're coming to understand and accept, the earth has a finite amount of natural resources. As a gardener, my notion of environmental responsibility is that my garden makes the wisest possible use of those resources, respecting and recycling them as much as possible. As a group, grasses are among the most efficient of all plants, which is why they are so successfully represented in habitats worldwide. Their durability, adaptability, and frequent ability to get by with minimal water make them natural choices for the challenging situations often encountered in the garden.
Many of us garden on land that has witnessed a multitude of past uses, and this often means that soils are compacted, low in nutrients, poorly drained, or hot and droughty due to reflected heat from buildings. Within the modern array of ornamental grasses, there are selections that will meet all these conditions without complaint.
TP: You have been gardening for many years. How have your own tastes and interests changed and developed regarding your plants? In what ways have these changes influenced your goals as gardening educator and designer?
RD: For me, gardening has been a journey full of discovery, repetition, more discovery. To employ a realistic metaphor: If I were to walk half a mile (literally) east from our house, I would begin in the dappled embrace of our woodland garden, where shade-loving grasses and sedges play against trees and keep the ground cool and green. I'd soon meet the neighboring field, grassy and bright, where orchard grasses reflect the sun's rays in great bands. I'd enter the woods again; this time the local natural forest, and along little streams within I'd encounter numerous species of sedges and woodrushes mixing with ferns in the shade. Next, a high, dry clearing in the forest would be home to local warm-season grasses that need the sun, and at woods' edge I'd again meet the sweep of field grasses. As a walker, and a gardener, I love all these places and things. Over the years I've come to understand how they fit together and complement one another: enclosure and expanse, sun and shade, wet and dry, grasses and trees. I try my best to reflect and celebrate these relationships in my teaching and in the gardens I make.
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