In this year's edition of the **PHS Flower Show** in Philadelphia, the garden awarded Best in Show was the one presented under the title "Beauty of the Brandywine", created by Stoney Nurseries. With its nod to American painter Andrew Wyeth and his love for the Brandywine River, it achieved the highest recognition of the event.
This unique garden seeks to replicate the natural landscape of the Brandywine valley, and in it among the rustic vegetation some dried plants appear, such as thistles, which create a dramatic accent in the scene. We also find in the garden other references to Wyeth's paintings, such as the rusty vestiges of abandoned agricultural machinery.
The authors describe their garden as follows: "Three generations of Wyeth have captured the land, water, fields and surroundings of native plants, which have served as inspiration for a unique culture of the Brandywine River valley. The sycamores painted and captured by the Wyeth family provide shade to the ferns, flowers and streams, which come together to form the iconic Brandywine River. This is a perfect metaphor for the current working community to preserve and ensure a more sustainable future in the valley's fields and forests."
This idea of using dried plants in this type of garden, with a different use and other intentions, still follows the same aesthetic concept of Basson's garden that we presented to you in the previous [post](http://www.salagraupera.com/es/bloc/item/119-phs-flower-show).
A plant that would serve us to introduce these aesthetic concepts in the garden and that stands out, among other characteristics, for its interesting winter appearance, is [_Miscanthus sinensis_ 'Morning Light'](http://www.salagraupera.com/es/cataleg/graminies/item/miscanthus-sinensis-morning-light-2).
This herbaceous plant, which belongs to the Poaceae family, is compact in bearing and in full development reaches a height of about 90cm and a width also of around 90cm. It forms a clump of fine and long leaves, light in appearance and green in color with lighter shades.
Its flowering takes place from mid-summer to mid-autumn. This is characterized by stylized plume-shaped spikes of pale copper color, which turn luminous silver as they mature.
It prefers to be located in full sun and is not demanding in terms of soil type but it must be well-drained. It has good resistance to lack of water but prefers slightly moist soils and sporadic watering.
It is a very low maintenance plant. At the end of winter before new sprouting, the dry leaves and flowers from the previous year should be cut, which is advisable to leave them during winter to protect future shoots from the cold.
It is a grass that does not present notable pest or disease problems and is resistant to intense frosts, tolerating temperatures down to -15ºC.
It can be used in natural-looking gardens, low maintenance or as a specimen plant. Its flowers are suitable for cut flowers and for preparing dried flowers.