please id flowers and grass (growing, Dogwood, mowing, yard)

[gigimac]

Gardening friends,
Could you all come up with a few ideas as to what kind of blue/purple flowers are in this field, and also the type of grass? This is how I want my property to look over on the quarter acre to the side of the house.




Then I also wish to know, altho I can find out once I know what this stuff is, if this grass or whatever this green is, will it stay this height in general, on account of its type? It doesn't look like regular grass that looks so unkept when it gets long. We'd like grasses like these that will just stay about this long, I love the longer look but don't want it to get as high as an elephant's eye. Also hope it wouldn't necessarily die and turn brown and need to be re-sewn every year, or be a situation where I'd have to cut away dead parts else they might clutter the greening in spring.

Then the blue/purple flowers, I'm thinking it's sort of a heather, and anyhow, I live in the mts of NC and I'm wondering do they keep their color year-round, or do they only bloom in, say, August, and will they then die out in the winter snow and come back in spring?

I'm sorry I have so many questions, but I just would love to plant exactly this look in my side year to make it a meadow that wouldn't need mowing and would look like this year-round, particularly the grasses, or at least in-season for the flowers. I so appreciate anyone who can hazard a guess. The picture was on a photo sharing website, I do not know the photographer. THANK YOU!!! GG

[fisheye]

I could be wrong? But; I think they grow along side of your NY Interstates in swamp land. I would see them mixed in with the cattails. I 84 has plenty. I agree that it is very attractive. But, if it only thrives in a swamp; it might be impractical for the homeowner - unless you live next to a swamp.

[kinkytoes]

Are the flowers purple gayfeather(liatris)?

Gayfeather (Liatris spicata) Seeds
My Cottage Garden: Glorious Colour Time in Zone 4

[gigimac]

Kinky, you may have something there. Maybe I'll look for a pic of those in a field, to find the grass, too.

[J&Em]

They do look like Liatris. Most Liatris need moisture to start with and don't always survive very dry periods so if you are looking for a high mountain meadow that requires no work you may not want to use them. Once established they seem to be OK with some drought conditions. Mine have survived periodic neglect in a perennial garden, but they can often get leggy and fall over. There are several native and cultivated plants with a similar look of spiky blue flowering stems (Dame's rocket, Veronica (speedwell) or Great blue Lobelia to name a few) . Here are a few ideas from in state: Defining Your Home, Garden and Travel: Meadow Madness

The white flowers are too blurry to be sure but resemble white milkweed (larger leaves) or even a Joe Pye Weed. Cultivated yarrow would have a similar bloom when seen at a distance. Queen Anne's Lace is a wild flower with the same general look.

The "grass" could be any number of grasses, or sedges.

You have some good resources in the area that you can ask for a better ID and match for your growing conditions:

The North Carolina Arboretum

Meadowbrook Nursery: Visit the Nursery

[gigimac]

J & Em, thank you! for your thoughts! That is a FAB website on the meadow stuff, I shall look around in there to maybe find some sort of similar grasses as my pic, to put on my slight hill above a small spring creek. I just don't want mowing grass or one that will wind up too weedy and tall, and of course the deep green color and waving habit in my pic was the most attractive thing to me. So, anyway, I have decided the grass is indeed a swamp type grass, I've had a picture on my desktop for a year or so of typical Texas purple flowers (forget the name), don't ask me why I didn't notice it, but they have the SAME grass and the Texas flowers are all growing near some big water collection areas! And thanks, too, to FISHEYE for originally suggesting it's swamp grass, which has been confirmed by the other posters here.

You know, I had a list of names of these drifts of flowers in various shades of purples, it's somewhere on this computer, and I could also pull up lots of sources to show me which of those match the ones in my picture. But when I saw them with that grass, I thought how perfect, wanted to come to GARDEN and make sure of what I was seeing. Now that I know it must be swamp grass, that won't work for my side yard to turn meadow. But as I said, I'll look for something similar, one that won't need mowing but will be deep green and flowing. The flowers aren't as important on I.D.ing them, because as I said, I have a list of lavenders I love that will fit in just fine. I guess I thought it was some unique mix.

But keep those cards and letters coming, folks, I'm all ears for all ideas. And one more special thanks to J & Em, that meadow website was so great, I can hardly wait to peruse thru it!! GG

P.S. I guess I COULD put a pondy thing in my meadow, but I know it takes acres of subterranean water to achieve true "swamp." When I find a good substitute for dry land grass, which there ARE some bulb grasses that do that way, in the onion family I think, I'll come back and put it, so others who read will know how to achieve this look I like.

[kinkytoes]

Yet another NC person in the Gardening forum. You guys! It sounds like NC is a wonderful state and a gardener's paradise. Sigh. Anyway, if you're considering doing a meadow, the website where I got my wildflower seed is American Meadows.

J&EM, I just ordered some native azalea and a disease-resistant dogwood from Meadowbrook to plant in the woods this Fall! Excited. The nursery has gotten great reviews and they have natives I can't seem to find in my area.

Lotsa luck w/ the meadow OP.