Silk Grasses offer Uncultivated Chic

Silk Grass’ Magnetism

There’s a natural attraction to grasses. Not only is grass the most widely spread plant in The United States, but when left uncultivated and uncut, its free-flowing nature reminds us of our own free spirits, as well as the state of our country before it was settled.

In the 1936 novel, The Sea of Grass, by Conrad Richter, grass is used to depict the untamed West, before settlers overturned the sod and attempted to harness the vastness of the plains.

Today, a field of waving grasses, or a container offering a sampling of the same, delivers a sense of calm, the cool relaxation of green, and reminds us of our wild roots.

Grasses’ Symbolic Nature

Symbolically, grasses are said to represent both utility and submission. Throughout history, fields of grass were seen as hope for natives, but were also viewed as fleeting…for they could be wiped out with conquest. A clump of grass pulled and held in hand represented the invasion and occupation of territory.

Today, many states remember their land, before the development, by using the grasses that once grew in abundance, as their state symbols:

o Colorado and New Mexico: Blue Grama - dark, elongated burgundy seed pods atop semi-rigid bluish stems.

o Illinois and Missouri: Big Bluestem - heads consist of three spikes, while the stems mature to blue.

o California: Purple Needlegrass - grows in bunches, resulting in purple-hued seed heads.

o Minnesota: Wild Rice - grows in shallow water, with rice heads emerging into open air.

o Montana and Washington: Bluebunch Wheatgrass - characterized by its bluish color and bristles that project at 90 degree angle from the seed head.

o Nebraska: Little Bluestem - similar to Big Bluestem in everything but height, this bunch grass starts out blue in the spring and fades to red in the fall. Its seed heads are white.

o Nevada and Utah: Indian Ricegrass - a bunch grass, characterized by randomly places seed heads, creating a baby’s breath type haze.

o Wyoming, North and South Dakota: Western Wheatgrass - a leggy grass, bearing feathery heads.

o Oklahoma and South Carolina: Indian Grass - yellow-hued heads that are known for their wild, multidirectional seeds sprout from this bunch grass.

o Texas: Sideoats Grama - blue-green grass with purple flowers and seeds that resemble oats.

Though many of these grasses are found in great quantities within their designated states, their existences are more meager than in past centuries.


Silk Grasses: Wild Abandon Meets Sophistication

Can you think of a better way to speak of unadulterated freedom and pure, unspoiled, beauty than with a tribute to our country’s most self-sustaining plant?

Silk grasses have the moxie to play the role of a dramatic focal point, while being demure enough to complement most any décor as an accent piece. They can provide a stylish backdrop, or steal the show.

Combine maintenance-free silk grasses with your silk flowers and plants for an addition of texture and interest, or display the wild-child grasses all on their own…for a stand-alone, unforgettable statement of feral beauty.

You’ll find a wide selection of silk grasses, in rich hues such as yellows, greens, blues, purples, burgundies, and shades of rust, red, and orange. Use silk grasses for all that they’re worth - to finish a silk flower arrangement, or to simply be the arrangement.

by Leigh LaCava - May, 2010

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Source: http://www.freshsilkflowers.com