Regal Muhly on a Misty Morning

Last week when I looked outside early one morning I was surprised to see that I couldn't really see very far at all.   It seemed a "cloud" had descended to earth.  Fog you say?  Or was it mist?   Did you know there is a technical difference between fog and mist?

Since there are no unanswered questions anymore with the invention of Google and Wikipedia, I got my head out of the clouds and learned that "fog is distinguished from mist only by its density, as expressed in the resulting decrease in visibility."   Basically you can see farther in mist than in fog.  

"Fog is a collection of water droplets or ice crystals suspended in the air at or near the Earth's surface.  While fog is a type of a cloud, the term "fog" is typically distinguished from the more generic term "cloud" in that fog is low-lying, and the moisture in the fog is often generated locally (such as from a nearby body of water, like a lake or the ocean, or from nearby moist ground or marshes)."

 Since "moist ground" has been a little scarce this summer, let's just say it has been a very long time since I have seen fog (or mist) in these parts.   And since I did not measure the visibility, I am not technically sure whether it was fog or mist that I was seeing, but it was beautiful, nonetheless.

With the drought we have had this year, resulting in the lack of moist ground, my Pink Muhly Grass is not quite as spectacular as it has been in years past.  But on this misty/foggy morning, it had a positively ethereal beauty to it.

Muhlenbergia capillaris  'Regal Mist'

The variety of pink muhly grass that I have is called 'Regal Mist.'   Quite fitting for this misty (or foggy) morning, don't you think?

Below is a shot of the pink muhly after the mist of the morning had dissipated.

Another muhly in the mist below is Lindheimer's Muhly  

(Muhlenbergia lindheimeri)

Here's another shot of it on a drier day.

Lindheimer's Muhly grows much taller than its misty pink cousin, but it has a regal beauty all its own.   It is extremely drought tolerant and pairs nicely with salvias.

These muhly grasses are just a couple of my favorite ornamental grasses.  

Fog can also mean "a state of mental vagueness or bewilderment, a state of confusion or lack of clarity."   While I must admit I can certainly relate to that state of mind at times, I have no "fog" over ornamental grasses.   I clearly have a fondness for them.  They are so easy and have so much impact in a garden  -- lots of "bang for the buck!"  I cannot imagine my garden without them.

If you're in a fog about what to add to your garden, you might try a muhly or two.

Toni :-)