I never see a swath of ornamental grasses without thinking of Kurt Bluemel, who died last week at the age of 81. Bluemel, known as the "King of Grasses," was largely responsible, along with the late landscape architect Wolfgang Oehme, for popularizing grasses and wildflowers in natural landscape settings throughout the United States.
Bluemel established a nursery in Maryland (Kurt Bluemel, Inc), imported varities of perennials and grasses little used before in the United States, and grew them on by the tens of thousands.
Some years ago, I had the privilege (just before the dawn of digital cameras) of touring his own garden near Baltimore with a small group of plant aficionados. Kurt was there, and he was, of course, a fount of knowledge about what was in the garden, which he graciously shared with all of us. Read about his fascinating life on the company's website here.
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