Pink Muhly Grass Brightens A Fall Garden

By Phran Novelli

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - That is such a true bright pink - not the dull, dusky mauves you see in the fall - it's 'Pink Muhly grass,' a very special ornamental grass.

Muhlenbergia capillaris is a native grass named for a Pennsylvania botanist, named Muhlenberg, and it's worth looking for because there's really nothing else quite like it. It grows about 2 to 3 feet high and is very well behaved (it doesn't invade your garden like some other grasses can).

You can plant just one clump, several here and there like shrubs, create a low hedge, or make a meadow of it.

'Pink Muhly grass'creates a cotton candy-like cloud, which whips around in the wind. It loves the sun and looks spectacular when backlit, so plant it with the morning or afternoon sun behind it for best effect.

No weekly mowing - just cut it back once a year! It looks lovely through winter and welcomes lots of birds and ladybugs too!
Check out the photo of a pretty puffy cloud of 'Pink Muhly grass' here, then plan to plant some of this lovely, low-care native groundcover yourself next spring.