Yesterday my husband was outside in our garden taking Christmas family photos for some friends. The backdrop ended up being the tall plumes of Lindheimer’s muhly. As I viewed the photos, I was reminded how they have become the bones of my backyard winter garden. Even as I sit here and write, I watch the fine-textured, erect, almost silvery seed heads wave back and forth in the brisk north wind. In early spring the sparrows race back and forth from the grasses to the purple martin house (which has yet to attract purple martins!) filling their beaks with the dried leaves for nesting material. All summer long the blue-green foliage is striking.

This low-maintenance Texas native grass is perfect for the organic garden. Some years I cut it back, some years when I forget, I just comb through it to remove the old growth. It likes a minimum of water, once established, and can tolerate a variety of soils as long as they are well drained. There are several other grasses in our garden – this is, by far, my favorite.

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