Grass Blog

Grasses at a Glance
Grasses at a Glance
clump of grass with dried curled leaves
Identifying Poverty Oat Grass
I love when plant identification is easy, when there’s one distinctive characteristic that makes a plant stand out from others around it, leaving no...
clumps of prairie dropseed in bloom next to a walkway
Add Prairie Dropseed to your home garden
Last fall I visited the Missouri Botanic Garden with my family, and I was pleasantly surprised to see that they added a fair amount of grasses to the...
field of green blades of grass
Refresh your grass identification skills
Spring is here and plants are greening up and leafing out almost 3 weeks ahead of schedule! My neighbors and I have already been out and about doing...
river oats seeds
Growing native grasses from seed
Over the past two months, I’ve been working with Master Gardener and Master Naturalist volunteers to sort, clean, and package seeds of native plants...
Green lawn grass with fallen leaves
What color is your lawn this fall?
As the days shorten and winter approaches, nature has taken on a bleaker appearance. Deciduous trees have lost their leaves, wildflowers have gone to...
woman holding clump of soil and roots
Going underground to explore the hidden benefits of grasses
Before the first hard frost came at the end of October, I planted many native plants around our new house. I brought some of my favorite plants with...
patch of small carpetgrass in bloom
Identifying and reporting Small Carpetgrass, an invasive grass in Illinois
While identifying plants at a prairie reconstruction last month, I came across a new grass that I’ve not seen before. Unfortunately, it is an...
infestation of Japanese Stiltgrass
Be on the lookout for invasive grasses
One of the reasons plant identification is so important is to help us tell the difference between plants that contribute to a healthy ecosystem and...
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Grasses at a Glance dives into grass identification, focusing on tips and tricks that make grass identification possible. Get information about native and non-native species, how to tell look-alikes apart, and which grasses you can find in Illinois. 

 

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Meet the author

Erin Garrett is a natural resources, environment, and energy educator for University of Illinois Extension serving Alexander, Johnson, Massac, Pulaski, and Union counties. Erin develops and delivers high impact programming to adults and youth to help them develop an appreciation for natural resources and to empower them to make small changes to positively impact the environment. Erin’s programming focuses on why homeowners should consider choosing native plants, how to support native pollinators, how to identify grasses, how to identify and manage invasive species, and developing an appreciation for prairie ecosystems.