Much more than fillers, Ornamental grasses, with their gently swaying movements, textures, shapes and colours are an ideal low-maintenance, drought-tolerant addition to any style of garden, providing impact and interest. Grasses also appeal to the senses as they are very tactile and calming.
Design Ideas and Plant Pairings
Plant grasses according to height among border annuals and perennials, ideally in two’s and three’s of the same grass to help everything flow naturally. Taller grasses also make excellent garden dividers or an informal hedge, such as the tall variegated Miscanthus Sinensis ‘Cabaret’ and the Indigenous Thamnuchortus Insignis.
Grasses can also be grown singly in containers or mixed in with colourful plants for an attractive long-lasting display on a patio.
Different coloured varieties of grasses include Miscanthus Sinensis Zebranis (Zebra grass), Ophiopogon, and White striped oat grass (Arrhenatherum Elatius Bulbosum), or try Japanese Blood grass, Imperata Cylindricon Rubra or Melinus Repens which have stunning red blades.
Any variety of Carex or Aristida grass will soften edges of pavers along with grey Festuca, black Mondo grass (Ophiopogon Planiscapis ‘Nigrensens) or Bronze Curls.
Wildlife Appeal and Garden Care
Grasses also attract birds who use the reeds and fluffy tassels for nest building and the grass seeds at the end of the season provide a nourishing meal for seed-eating birds. Butterflies use ornamental grasses as host plants for their larvae. Small seed-bearing grasses are Love grass (Eragrostis Capensis) and Briza Maxima.
Ornamental grasses can be evergreen providing year round interest or deciduous, which need cutting back annually to keep them looking good. Some varieties grow in clumps, that can be cut back and divided in Spring to be replanted in alternative areas of the garden, other ornamental grasses have rhizomes which will spread rapidly.
A free-draining soil in sun or semi-shade is preferable for grasses to thrive happily.