Thursday, February 7, 2013

My Miscanthus planting, aka the 'Septic Garden'

My new septic system was installed in 2003, and because of the high water table, the leach field is big.   Once the project was done I was faced with a large bare patch of soil, and I thought long and hard about what to plant over it.  The plants had to be shallow rooted, or they would damage the performance of the leach field. I also wanted low maintenance.
My solution was 60 plugs of Miscanthus grass and 20 blueberry bushes.  Although the Miscanthus in not native to this area and the blueberries are, they have grown together into an impressive 'septic garden', and need little care other than an annual haircut for the grass and some trimming for shape for the berries. And now that I have a vegetable garden, the Miscanthus cuttings are put to use as mulch over the paths. I know that Miscanthus is considered an invasive non-native in some parts of the US, but it has been a restrained and polite resident of my garden.
I wait until spring to cut them back because the  golden clumps of tall grass are a welcome sight against the  brown and gray of the winter garden. They are also Sol's favorite place to play - he loves to run through them and follow the rabbit trails: