Meadows for the masses

'I keep saying it and saying it and saying it,' says John Greenlee, 'brown is a color too.' As autumn turns the dozens of grasses, sedges and rushes in his Pomona nursery various shades of gold, silver and brown, the leader of the Western meadow movement seems exhausted by a two-decade fight against the perpetual green of the suburban lawn.

Or perhaps he's simply worn out by a 2 a.m. arrival home after a bedeviled flight across the country, returning from a trip to see a grower for the John Greenlee Grass Collection, a line of grasses for the nursery giant EuroAmerican Propagators. As much to his own surprise as anyone else's, one of the most outspoken critics of mainstream American horticulture, the leader of the 'meadow revolution,' has gone over to big business. For the last five years, Greenlee has been developing ornamental grass collections for EuroAmerican's Proven Winners line. If the relationship lasts, Greenlee's grasses may soon appear in garden centers near you.