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In xeric environments with growing populations and limited and dwindling water supplies, the traditional green grass lawn especially stands out as a relec of a bygone mindset. For water conscious gardeners, ornamental grasses provide an alternative, adding a much more integrated look to sun drenched landscapes.
Native grasses, as well as grasses that are adaptive yet non aggressive to the Basin and Range, are becoming increasingly popular, especially because they require less water and many are right at home in poorer soils, doing what normal grass cannot do without extensive effort in our typical dry and wind worn seasons.
Ornamental grasses come in a variety of forms and textures. The color spectrum is also quite varied, which can add interest and fascination to your garden throughout its seasonal changes.
It's important that you use non-invasive grasses in your gardening and landscaping plans!
Cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum) was introduced into the western United States as a food for livestock foraging on arid lands, such as the Great Basin Desert. It quickly proved to be a huge mistake, not only because the time frame for eating by cattle and sheep herds was so limited (after a short stretch in early spring, the grass becomes inedible), but also because the grass quickly invaded both the old growth Pinon Pine / Juniper forest and Big Sage desert ecosystems with exceptionally disastrous effects.
According to Peter Weisberg of the Online Nevada Encyclopedia, once introduced, the big problem with cheatgrass is this:
Cheatgrass is able to alter natural fire conditions through its particular life history characteristics. Cheatgrass has a winter annual life cycle that differs from that of most native grasses. Seeds germinate in fall or early winter so that established plants grow rapidly in early spring as a result of their head start. Abundant seeds are produced and the plant's life cycle is completed in early summer, while native bunchgrasses are still green and not yet reproductively mature. Dry, dead cheatgrass burns readily and produces a continuous layer of fuel to carry range fires. The resulting fires put native vegetation at a disadvantage because many species have not yet set seed. A positive feedback loop is created; with each successive fire, cheatgrass becomes more dominant.
These native grasses are often used in roadside landscaping projects by the Nevada Department of Transportation:
Nature photography can go a long way in capturing the detail and color of a landscape, but it takes a really good photographer to capture movement, especially the subtle movement of a gental desert breeze. Where rock and cactus stand rigid against even the strongest wind, grasses dance and sing! Some gardeners even place tall ornamental grasses in specific locations to act as living weathervanes.
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