Why Lawn

Lawn maintenance consumes an incredible amount of time and money.  But what is the purpose of a lawn, and could those resources be put to better use?

Let’s first start with the question:  Why have a lawn?  There are some practical reasons.  Recreation - lawns are often used as open and safe places for children, and some adults, to play.  Protection - having open sightlines around your dwelling, with few hiding spaces can make one feel safer.   Buffer space - keeping nature at a ‘safe’ distance.  This could be to control insects or wildlife, or, in fire prone areas, an open, healthy, lawn can protect a dwelling from fire. Status - a perfect lawn is often equated with ones class.  Going back a century or so, if you had the resources to expend on maintaining a perfect lawn then one must be pretty well off.  

A pretty common sight: large lawns on multiacre lots.  

In his 1841 treatise on landscape gardening, A. J. Downing advocated for the need of having a proper lawn to have a tasteful and civilized property.  He translated the Romantic style of late 18^th-century English landscape architects into a form more suited to the United States, particularly in the Hudson Valley and Mid-Atlantic.   Downing was extremely influential in setting the course for American landscape design into the 20^th century.  Another key event in making the lawn a standard feature was around 1870 when the reel lawnmower, which had been invented in England, came to the US.  This made keeping a mown lawn more practical. 

Achieving the ‘perfect’ weed-free lawn was made much easier with the development and marketing of the herbicide 2,4 D (1944) for residential use.  A lawn treated with this was made free of nearly all non-grass (dicot) plants.  This meant that most flowering plants which could support pollinators (e.g. clover, fleabanes and heal-all) could be eliminated from lawns.  The result was a nearly flawless (one could say featureless) green carpet of only grass-like (monocot) plants.     

Considering the history of landscape design from earliest times, there seems to be a need for humans to exert control over nature, despite the costs.  People, in general, feel much more comfortable in a landscape that is readable or understandable.  These are places where they can see the ins and outs and how to move through the space.  Think of the composition of a photograph or painting.  There are elements that draw the eye through the piece to a focal point.  Crisp or well defined edges are also important in creating readability.  I’ll admit that I do feel a sense of satisfaction when I look back on an evenly mown and edged green carpet. 

Let’s look at some data about lawns in the United States:

Acreage of lawns   Looking on the internet I found figures of between 40 and 50 million acres of residential turf grass in the US.  Compare that to the total amount of land used to grow corn which averaged at about 90 million acres between 2018-2022 (USDA data).  These figures are based on satellite imagery.  Most corn is grown without irrigation.  If you compare the irrigated acreage for corn of about 12 million acres to that for turf, then you come up with 3-4 times as much lawn as irrigated corn. 

Amount of gas used   Based on EPA figures from 2005, 800 million gallons of gasoline were used to power lawn care equipment each year.  Using this weeks’ national average of $3.72/gal you are talking about $3 billion dollars annually.  On top of that, lawn mowers and other small-engine powered lawn equipment, which have no pollution control devices, are significant contributors to air pollution.  Estimates are that combined landscape care equipment contributes about 5% of the total air pollution, CO, hydrocarbons and NOx .

Amount of water used on residential landscapes   EPA estimates of water use for landscape purposes is 9 billion gals/day (WaterSense 2013).  Most of that is treated potable water that could be used for domestic consumption rather than poured onto the ground.  With the increasing severity of droughts, particularly in areas of the Southwest where population is shifting towards, there are very real problems with providing all the water that is needed. 

So considering that lawns and lawn care have increasing costs and negative effects it is time to ask why and how much lawn can we afford and what are the alternatives.

Trends away from lawns:

No mow May.  Started in England as a push to provide early season pollinators with flowers that are common in English lawns.  Blindly adhering to a no-mow-May program in a country with so many diverse climates and types of lawns as the US is often inappropriate.  To be useful, the lawn or property in question needs to have a population of plants with early blooming flowers that the pollinator population likes.   Depending on the climate the appropriate time for suspending mowing could be as early as February or into the later part of May.  If you have a monoculture of Kentucky blue grass there is little benefit to pollinators in skipping a month of mowing, there is just nothing of benefit there for them.  If you have a diverse ‘lawn’ containing native weeds like violets, self-heal (Prunella vulgaris), fleabanes (Erigeron sp.), spring beauties (Claytonia virginica) and the like, then allowing those to come into bloom would have a positive effect.  If you really need to mow, take the effort to mow around the blooming plants until they are done.  Lawns can also be interplanted with spring bulbs.  While not native, very early bulbs like Crocus, Chionodoxa and Scilla can add interest to an early spring lawn.  These bulbs have usually completed their growth and blooming cycle by the time the need for mowing kicks in.

I have been allowing this patch of Philadelphia fleabane
to develop without mowing.  It reaches peak bloom
in mid-May.  I usually mow it down in early June
after it sets some seed. When not in bloom plants survive
as low-growing rosettes.  

While there is the oft repeated advice to never cut more than one third of the length of the grass blade at a time, I rarely let that force me to cut the lawn before I’m ready.  I can’t say that I have ever noticed a problem by occasionally letting the lawn get too long between cuts.  In those cases when I do the biggest problem is the long clippings left on top.  A mulching mower can help deal with that.  All these problems are magnified on the ‘perfect’ lawn, where any imperfection becomes blaringly obvious.  In a diverse, multispecies lawn imperfections blend into the mosaic of plant colors and textures.

Lose the Lawn  This is a phase that is used by many people when voicing their concern about the amount of resources being pouring into and onto lawns.  You can get excellent advise on this subject for university extension services.  Doing an internet search on ‘lose the lawn’ and your state of region can give you information on lawn alternatives suitable for your area.  For example try this link to the UMD extension for the Mid-Atlantic region.

Climate appropriate landscaping   This is another phrase used when talking about more sustainable landscape practices.  Simply put, it is using plants that grow well with the resources that are naturally available.  Native species appropriate to the local climate require much less water and other inputs than turf or other non-adapted species.  When there are no plants suitable, look to using other materials to achieve the design goals.  It also means avoiding the use of plants and materials that require an extraordinary amount of inputs to maintain them.  

As droughts are becoming more frequent and severe, many municipalities are instituting water restrictions and/or offering enticements for installing water efficient landscaping.

What can one do?

>If you have a lawn, mow and water when lawn needs it, rather than on a preset schedule.  This can be difficult with lawn services since making a flexible schedule with multiple clients can be very difficult.  I did see on the web some services that offer options for having a less frequent mowing schedule.  That may be a move in the right direction.  In general lawns maintained at 3-4" have deeper roots making them less dependent on frequent watering.  Also the taller turf shades the soil which reduces weed seed germination and evaporation or soil moisture.

>Replace high maintenance lawn grasses with climate appropriate turf.  The US is divided into 3 zones for turf grass, cool season, warm season and the transitional zone between them.  A nice overview of turf grass types for the various regions of the United States can be found in this blog post from Landscape America.  While most turf grasses are not native to North America a few are.  Buffalo grass (Bouteloua dactyloides) is a native species found in the plains from Southern Canada to Northern Mexico.  It has been developed as a drought tolerant turf grass.  A native of the Gulf States, St. Augustine grass (Stenotaphrum secundatum) has been cultivated and planted along the east and west coastal areas of the US.  Fine fescues are well adapted to the Pacific Northwest and Northeastern states.  A few subspecies of red fescue (Festuca rubra) are native to North America; however, the blends suited for turf usage contain a variety of fine fescues most of which are not native.  There are at least three blends of these fine fescues that have been selected for use in cool season growing zones that are drought tolerant, need little fertilization.  Look for Eco-Lawn, Eco-grass or No Mow fine fescue blends. 

This patch of lawn is mostly fine fescues that is mown about every two weeks. 
It looks like regular 'grass'.  If I did not mow it it would would develop a
 fine silky, mounded texture that fine fescues are noted for.  

>Develop a tolerance for having mowable green, rather than a perfect cloned lawn.  My lawn, in the Mid-Atlantic region, is a mixture of tall and fine fescues, nimblewill (Muhlenbergia schreberi, a local native species), probably some purple top (Tridens flavus, also native), violets, fleabanes, clover and some less desirable (but tolerable) weedy stuff.  A diverse lawn requires fewer inputs to maintain.

>Consider alternative ground covers.  Regionally native species are preferred because, in addition to requiring little to no mowing, they also support local wildlife.  Some lower growing North American natives that can replace, or be incorporated into a lawn include frog fruit (Phyla sp.); pussy toes (Antennaria sp., for sunny dry conditions), and golden ragwort (Packera aurea, partly sunny, moist conditions).  Moss is perfect for a shady spots. Again, doing a search on ‘lose the lawn’ coupled with your region yields results that offer a list of alternative ground covers.  I recommend focusing on web sites managed by university extension services as providing the most unbiased results.

This patch of golden ragwort bursts into bloom in April. 
It is semi-evergreen and grows to about 6" tall.  It is slowly expanding,
but can be kept under control with mowing.

>Reduce or eliminate fertilization.  In many situations it is a vicious cycle.  Fertilizer is needed to replace the nutrients removed when grass clippings are removed while mowing.  Then, the more fertilizer you add, the more the lawn grows, then the more there is to mow.  By leaving grass clippings in the first place and mowing in the leaves in the fall, you are recycling the nutrients in place and feeding the microbes living in the soil.  Using a mulching mower will reduce the amount of clippings visible on the lawn.

>Reduce area committed to lawn and replace with bedding, meadow-type plantings, successional plantings, or cropping (hay fields).  When reshaping the lawn, go for simple shapes that can be mown efficiently, avoid tight turns and acute angles.  I have one triangular area that requires a lot of backtracking to mow.  A rectangle or oval could be done with less backtracking. 
A successional planting builds on the natural process of succession.  Succession is the natural process where the mix of plants on a site changes over time, and it begins when one stops mowing.  East of the Mississippi River, the sequence is usually bare land becomes grasslands, which in turn becomes shrublands which eventually turns into forests.  This process usually takes many years.  The land owner could  speed up the process by planting desirable shrubs and trees to create an idealized version of the natural landscape.  Intervention by the landowner can also pause succession at various stages such as as a meadow or shrubland.

Here is a possibility of allowing some succession of  local native species
(redbuds, dogwoods, asters, etc.).  Clean edges and sightlines to and
from the dwelling confer intention to the landscape.  This more
diverse landscape offers much more to the local ecology. 

>When creating a new space, clean edges, whether straight or curved, convey a sense of intention in the landscape.  A wilder space surrounded by a clean edge is visually more comforting than a totally wild area.

>Where climate is not suitable for growing plants, use hardscape or inorganic mulches. Hardscape does not have to be impermeable concrete.  Dry laid stones and pavers allow for water infiltration which reduces runoff problems.

>Be creative with the space, put in artwork to fill the space and send a message.  On a recent trip to Sebastapol, CA we visited Florence Ave where many of the residents have sculptures in the front yards by local artist Patrick Amiot. 

This owl sculpture is complemented by a variety of
perennials in this lawn-free front yard.

The minimal landscaping around this catfishing dog works quite well. 
The colors of the spiky New Zealand flax play well with the colors in the statue.

Reducing the area committed to lawn does not have be be done all at once.  It can be done one area at a time, or by expanding planted beds or wilder areas a little bit each year.  I would love to hear about your experiences with reducing resources committed to maintain a lawn.

Grasses are tough

Grasses are tough, not only do they grow just about everywhere, they can be very difficult to identify.  Unlike so many flowering forbs, grasses tend to all look about the same to the casual observer.  This situation is reinforced by our tendency to mow grasses down on a regular basis so that all we see are a collection of short green leaves.  In the US there are 169 genera and 1,398 species of grasses.  In the Northeast there are roughly 600 species growing in the wild.  Over the past couple of years I’ve making an effort to identify grasses growing on and around our property here in central Maryland.   

The first level of grass identification is to determine whether you are looking at a true grass (Poaceae) rather than a sedge (Cyperaceae) or rush (Juncacaeae).  You can make a quick distinction using the rhyme:  Sedges have edges, rushes are round, and grasses have knees (joints) and bend to the ground.  Sedges have triangular stems; when observed end-on the leaves will project out 120 deg apart.  The stems of rushes are round.  The stems of grasses have joints or knobs where each leaf blade originates.  In addition grass stems are hollow while those of sedges and rushes are solid.

While there are a few grasses that can be identified with some reliability on sight, most require close examination of the flowers and leaf surfaces with a hand lens to determine the grass down to the species.  Some easily identifiable species include the very popular little bluestem, Schizachyrium scoparium, and invasive species like Japanese stiltgrass, Microstegium vimineum, and Johnson grass, Sorghum halpense.  But for the most part you need to do a close examination to really determine a grass down to the species level.  There are a number of dichotomous keys for grass identification down to the species level.  Some rely heavily on flower (spikelet) characteristics, while others include other characteristics.  These keys ask a sequence of yes-no questions about the plants to slowly lead you to a result that matches the characteristics of the plant in question. 

Little bluestem is particularly recognizable in fall when the stems turn bronze
and the fuzzy seeds catch the light.  In summer the stems have a bluish green cast.

Johnson grass is a non-native weedy species that is often seen
 on the edges of fields and drainage areas.  It is tall 3-7'
and kind of looks like skinny corn stalks.  

Japanese stiltgrass in an invasive grass species, particularly in the
eastern United States.  It can be distinguished by the silvery midrib
on the elliptical leaves and its lax habit with many joints along the stems.

The Native Plant Trust (formerly the New England Wildflower Society) has developed an on-line key called GoBotany that allows one to enter a variety of plant characteristics simultaneously and provide a best fit.  This is particularly useful if you are trying to do an identification at a time when no blooms are available.  The plants in this database include grasses, forbs and woody species, but are limited to those found in the New England states. 

 To do a grass identification you’ll need an identification key and a hand lens (10x).  A camera is also useful to document your observations.  Since I made a commitment to ID some of my grasses I’ve been gathering a few different resources.  The Manual of Vascular Plants of Northeastern United States and Adjacent Canada, by Gleason and Conquist is a very technical key (in small print) that, while challenging to use, does provide detailed descriptions of each species. Grasses an Identification Guide by Lauren Brown is easier to use and well illustrated.  It also includes some common sedges and rushes in addition to grass species.  Its drawback is that it describes only the more common grasses.  Both of these references contain species found in the northeastern quarter of the US.

One resource I haven’t used much (yet) is Manual of the Grasses of the United States by A. S. Hitchcock.  This two volume set describes all of the grasses found growing in the US.  It does include some illustrations which makes it somewhat friendlier than Gleason and Conquist.  I’ve been intimidated by the size of this collection (especially large considering this includes only grasses, no rushes or sedges).

Here in the Mid-Atlantic region an easier to use key is the Field Guide to Grasses of the Mid-Atlantic by Sarah Chamberlain.  This guide includes botanical sketches of plants, and plant parts, to aid in the identification and includes only true grasses that are found in the Mid-Atlantic States (VA to PA).  So you don’t wade through extra species that are not likely to be present.  It includes many more grass species than Lauren Brown’s book, though it lacks the sedges and rushes. 

An additional book that I have found critically useful in all plant identifications is Plant Identification Terminology by Harris and Harris.  It provides illustrations and definitions of all the plant parts that are described in botanical Latin terms in the keys. 

Going through a dichotomous key can be time consuming, especially early on as you are wrestling with botanical Latin.  A drawback of many keys is that it is difficult to go backwards when you get something wrong, i.e., you get to the end of the key and your sample is nothing like the choices in the key.  Some of the more formal keys are easier to back up on when each step is numbered.  I’ve found with some of the book formats that they do not number the steps (choices) so that going backwards involves leafing through a lot of pages.  Perhaps putting some sort of bookmarks, like post-its, in the book would make it easier to retrace my steps. 

When I do go through a key and end up without a match I will go back to a point where I was not absolutely certain about my choice and then run down that new path.  Sometimes you just don’t have a good example of the feature that they are asking about; like size or shape of a seed, the number of veins on a lemma, or a surface is slightly or very hairy. 

Here you can see the individual florets of switchgrass.  This species has
only one floret per spikelet. Highlighted here are the glumes,
bracts that enclose the floret(s).  One of the florets is in full bloom
 with the anthers and stigma projecting out of the floret.

After getting frustrated about not getting satisfactory results I found it helpful to practice on some known species.  That way you can get some confidence with identifying botanical structures.  I had examples of switchgrass, Panicum virgatum, and purple top, Tridens flavus, that I could practice on.  After that I worked on an unknown grass that was a little past bloom, the flowers were a little tattered but mostly recognizable.  I found that one of my problems is counting florets in dried flowers.  Sometimes they just look like a bunch of chaff.  With a little practice I’m getting better at recognizing the flower parts.  I was able to ID the unknown as the relatively common, though non-native, smooth brome, Bromus intermis.

Here's the flower stalk for purple top.  The spikelets, which contain
4-9 florets, are deep purple in color.  Hence the common name.

One thing that surprised me in keying out grasses is that plants that are close together in a key may not look that much alike when viewed at a distance.  That is because many keys focus in on differences that are not easily seen rather than on obvious features like height or size of leaf blades.  While not part of some keys, knowing things like bloom season or habitat can be very useful in confirming an identification. 

In addition to running through keys, working with people who are familiar with grasses can be of great help.  For many, once you know and recognize a plant you don’t need to run through a key to identify it, they just know.  In this time of COVID-19 it is even more difficult to find and work closely with a grass expert.  I did recently find a Facebook group focused on identifying grasses called Grasses,Sedges and Rushes of the Northeastern USA.  They have been helpful in pointing me in the right direction when I have been adrift. 

The American mannagrass grows vigorously in early spring
 and is in full bloom by the end of June.

This was the case when I thought I had ID’ed a grass as drooping woodreed, Cinna latifolia.  This was thrown in doubt when I saw that the grass was going dormant in mid-summer while Cinna normally blooms in mid-summer.  Based on a lead I got from the Facebook group, I redid the ID using a different key and came up with American mannagrass, Glyceria grandis.  On reviewing the keys it appeared that I had totally messed up characterizing the flower (spikelet) parts by overlooking some of the less developed florets.  On a side note, it was interesting to see that areas that were thick with mannagrass had very little Japanese stiltgrass filling in in late summer.

 

Fall's Second Season

Even though all the blossoms are gone there are still sights to delight the eye in the fall garden.  Rather than the purples and golds of aster and goldenrod flowers, we get whites and silvers from the seeds and seed heads of many of these same plants.  The lower angle of the winter sun magnifies this effect, causing them to nearly glow with reflected light.

This photo was taken on a mid-November morning.  Some of the plants from
left to right are little bluestem, New England aster, purple top (grass) and Canada goldenrod.

Sweet everlasting, Pseudognaphallium obtussifolium, has a particularly long-lasting presence in the garden.  Even after the seeds are dispersed the white, star-like sepals remain intact well into January.  This plant is an annual and depends on this seed finding a spot on the ground to continue its presence in the garden.

The spent flowers of sweet everlasting show off well in front of a dark back ground.
Mixed in here are the seed stalks of the native grass, purple top, Tridens flavus.

Virgin's bower, Clematis virginiana, is one of our native clematises.  It has a very long vining habit, growing to about 20 feet in sunny location in one season.  Many consider it weedy because its thin stems go just about anywhere.  I like it because it does a good job of covering  fences  with foliage without becoming heavy and damaging like the exotic sweet autumn clematis.  The flowers in the second half of summer are small and rather subtle compared to many cultivated clematises.  Where this plant shines (or glows) is in the fall when the feathery seed heads form.  

After the fluffy white seeds of New York ironweed are dispersed
these rust colored capsules will remain for several months.

Another fall star is New York ironweed, Vernonia novebaracensis.  By the end of October the magenta flowers are all gone, replaced with the rust-colored seed heads.  As winter wears on these breakdown and become less fluffy; however the star-like sepals remain into the new year.




Besides all these flowering plants, the grasses also make a graceful contribution to the fall and winter garden.  Last fall I wrote a blog post about fall grasses.  I won't go into a lot of detail again, only to say that some of them really do use the winter light to great effect, such as pink muhly (Muhlenbergia capilaris) and little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium).

Little bluestem also takes on a distinct copper hue that makes it easy to spot at a distance.  Northern sea oats (Chasmantheum latifolium) also has a distinctive form with its dangling seed heads and rich brown hues.  Also on the property I have several large patches of deer tongue grass (see last fall's post).  What I noticed this year was that, while not particularly beautiful in form, the stiff dried leaves made a very pleasant rustling sound when there was just a little breeze.

While leaving perennials and grasses standing over the winter offers some visual interest to an otherwise flat landscape, it is also a good practice for the ecologically minded gardener.  Seed heads left standing provide food for migrating and non-migrating birds.  Standing twigs provide winter cover for many small animals and insects.  The larvae of many butterflies over winter in the leaf litter.  Many insect predators overwinter in the ground cover.  By providing space for them you will have a leg up come spring on your pest control.  (There are situations were fall clean up is advised, particularly for plants battling a fungal or bacterial infection where spores can overwinter in the leaf layer.)

Appreciating plants in the fall is not just an outdoor activity.  We brought in a few to enjoy as a table center piece.  While pretty this has proven to get a little messy.  The seeds  on the little bluestem stick quite tightly to the table cloth and the hosta seed head is still shedding seeds.  Our biggest problem is that our cat likes to get in and rearrange things, even the spiny branches of the invasive wineberry (Rubus phoenicolasius).

Some of the plants from left to right, Northern sea oats, a wineberry stem, little bluestem,
false indigo pods, tall ornamental garlic, hosta and wild bergamot.

Fall Grasses

We've had a long and relatively mild fall here, that is until this week when overnight temps got to the low 20's.  Many trees held onto their leaves for a long time wait for a real cold snap to trigger leaf drop.  The Fothergilla I planted last season finally turned the fluorescent orange that I was hoping for.

As the temperature dropped the leaves of this
 Fothergilla 'Mt. Airy' changed to this intense orange color.

It got me thinking about my plant selection.  I am always looking out for plants with exciting fall foliage, reds, golds and oranges.  It got me to thinking that these are more effective when contrasted with cooler or muted colors like pale yellow, green or tan.

One class of plants to fill that role are the native grasses. Late or warm season grasses that produce flowers and seeds in the fall are particularly effective.  The low angle of the sun late in the year really plays off the seed stalks, bringing them to life.  I usually leave these stalks standing through the winter to get the most out of them.  I'll clean up what remains in the spring.

Another benefit of these grasses is as a food source for birds and as shelter for many insects and overwintering animals.



Here are some of the grasses I have that are showing off nicely this fall.

I have planted inland sea oats (Chasmanthium latifolium), aka, Northern sea oats and several other names, along a sloping area by the house subject to erosion.  This grass produces a dense fiberous root system that holds the soil well.  While its native habitat is in moist shady locations it will also tolerate dry shade.  It sprouts early in the spring and can spread, both by expanding clumps and seeds, to form dense stands.

The broad leaves of Inland Sea Oats has a bamboo-like appearance.
These copper colored seeds will persist into winter.

The plan is for this Pink Muhly to fill in along this fence.

When they open the flowers look like exploding fireworks.

Another grass that I have added to the property is Pink Muhly Grass (Muhlenbergia capillaris).  This species is native to the eastern US and the gulf coast, but you're not likely to find it naturally in the mountain regions where I am.  The reason I put this in was the light-catching effect of the flower plumes.  At first I was concerned that this effect would not be strong because I didn't have a good angle for the backlighting. But that's not a problem.  The photo above was taken at 2 PM and there is penty of light being scattered by the flowers even though the sun is still rather high in the sky.

I've found this plant to be slow to establish here. Some of that has to do with competition from the surronding plants. Clumps of pink muhly will expand, but it is not an aggressive spreader.  Larger masses should be mown or burned back in late winter to clean up the clump.

This clump of little bluestem is easily identified
by the silvery seed tufts along the stem..

These next three species are growing wild around my home.  Little Bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium) is a common native species around here.  It is well suited to dry sunny sites.  It grows well in poor soils.  In excessively rich soils it puts on too much growth and flops over.  As a warm season grass it grows to 2-3 feet by mid-summer.  In the fall it turns golden and produces fuzzy white seeds along the upper stem.  These catch the light and envelop the stem in a silvery glow.  Some selections of little bluestem take on redder shades in the fall.   Small birds feed on the seeds, so I leave these up all winter.

One of the more distinctive grasses I have is Deer-tongue grass (Dichanthelim clandestinum, formerly Panicum clandestinum).  It has relatively broad leaves compared to other grasses.  It is a cool season grass, producing terminal spikelets in early to mid-summer.  Unlike most other cool season grasses, branching and growth continues through the summer.  The name, deer-tongue grass, refers to the shape of the inch-wide leaves, not to any preference for deer to eat it.

Deer-tongue grass persists well into fall, here as a deeply textured mass.

No longer colored, the seeds of Purpletop still catch the light.

Another common pasture grass here is purpletop (Tridens flavus).  When it first blooms in late summer it has a reddish purple color.  When distributed through a field, these blooms cast a purplish haze over the scene.  As the seeds mature the color is lost and the seed stalk becomes a brownish-gold.  As a pasture grass it is very palitable to livestock.  It is also a larval host to a variety of butterflies.

I have not seen purpletop used in any designed plantings, though it does have some interesting features.  The red colored flowers are best appreciated en masse and at a distance.  What might be useful in a smaller garden is to use the 3-4 foot tall flower stalks as a translucent screen between plantings.  Since the leaf blades are concentrated in the lower half of the plant they would not block a view across a planting.  Purpletop grows well on dryish soils in part to full sunlight.