The use of Ornamental grasses goes back hundreds of years in history and has been popular in Europe for a long time, in the mid 1960’s ornamental grasses started to make their way into landscape designs in the U.S and by the mid 1970’s they started to make inroads into the horticulture mainstream in the U.S and Canada. With today’s movement towards gardening in a more natural style and concerns about the environment homeowners, landscapers and developers are turning to ornamental grasses. With their extended season and an amazing array of colors, texture and form, ornamental grasses are becoming popular in perennial beds or being used as specimen plants. In recent years we are seeing ornamental grasses move from the private gardens and are now being used in public places, parks, golf courses and large scale developments. The name of our company “Prairie Waves” was inspired by the beautiful areas of native grass that we have in our province and the sight of the prairie grasses moving gently in the wind like waves on water as far as the eye can see. With the intense development pressure we have seen in Alberta over the past few years the need to conserve, develop and restore native prairie and parkland ecosystems for future generations is well recognized. Prairie Waves has worked with acreage owners, developers and golf courses encouraging them to incorporate small isolated pockets of prairie grasses and vegetation in their landscapes. The establishment of these areas will improve the wildlife habitat potential, provide some learning opportunities and greatly reduce the maintenance requirements. Combined with the unlimited aesthetic potential the establishment of these areas makes a good long-term investment. Gwen Ferguson / Mitch Jacques |