Ornamental grasses are graceful, natural looking plants that add striking texture, color, and movement to gardens and flower beds Their slender leaves, arching stems, and fuzzy plumes contrast beautifully with broader-leaved plants and brightly colored flowers. Once considered just for meadow gardens, ornamental grasses now enhance landscapes of all styles. Read on to discover the many benefits of ornamental grasses and tips for using them in your flower beds.
Benefits of Ornamental Grasses
Ornamental grasses offer numerous advantages for gardens:
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Visual Interest Grasses provide year-round beauty with their distinctive forms, flower plumes and foliage that changes color through the seasons. They add height flowing motion, and rustling sounds.
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Low Maintenance: Most grasses are tough, drought tolerant, and require little care once established. Many are deer and rabbit resistant too.
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Adaptability: Grasses thrive in a wide range of light and soil conditions. There are varieties suited to sun, part shade, even full shade.
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Long Season: Foliage and flowers last for months. Many retain their tan winter color for winter interest.
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Pollinator Habitat: Grasses host beneficial insects and produce seeds that feed birds in winter.
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Erosion Control: Their dense rhizome root systems prevent soil erosion on slopes and embankments.
Best Ornamental Grasses for Flower Beds
Here are some top picks for flower beds:
Karl Foerster Feather Reed Grass
The most popular ornamental grass, Karl Foerster grows in upright, vase-shaped clumps with slender green leaves. From late summer into winter, it produces feathery, wheat-colored plumes that mature to tan. It combines beautifully with purple coneflowers, black-eyed Susans, and other prairie plants.
Hameln Fountain Grass
A dwarf variety with a mounded shape, Hameln fountain grass has arching green leaves with a band of white and pink flowers appearing in fall. It thrives in sun or part shade and needs little water once established. Use it in container gardens too.
Shenandoah Switch Grass
A native prairie grass, Shenandoah switch grass handles heat, humidity, and drought. The leaves emerge blue-green in spring then turn burgundy by early summer. Airy, pink-tinged flower spikes appear in fall. It spreads slowly, so works well in confined areas.
Blue Fescue
Blue fescue is a clump-forming cool season grass with striking steel blue foliage. It maintains its neat mounded shape through summer then produces wheat-colored seed heads in fall. Try combining it with coral bells and catmint. It grows well in rock gardens too.
Purple Love Grass
As the name suggests, purple love grass has deep purple foliage and delicate, fuzzy purple plumes that dance in the wind. It stays purple all season without fading. Use it to contrast yellow and white daisies. Plant it in groups for maximum color impact.
Design Tips for Ornamental Grasses
Keep these tips in mind when incorporating ornamental grasses into flower beds:
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Match grasses to the scale of the bed. Select low growers like blue fescue for the front and medium varieties like Karl Foerster for mid-border. Use taller grasses like switch grass as bold upright specimens.
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Vary heights, shapes, and colors for interest. Combine mounded grasses with upright and arching forms. Mix cool blues with warmer golds and reds.
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Mass grasses in groups of 3, 5, or 7 for greater visual impact. Space them 18-24 inches apart.
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Surround grasses with complementary flowers sharing the same conditions. Try purple coneflowers, black-eyed Susans, asters, and sedum around prairie grasses.
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Allow enough space for grasses to achieve their mature spread size without crowding other plants.
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Use grasses as a living screen to create garden rooms or hide unsightly views.
Care for Ornamental Grasses
Caring for ornamental grasses is easy:
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Plant in spring or fall. Water new plantings regularly the first year until established.
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Fertilize in early spring with a balanced organic fertilizer. Avoid high nitrogen fertilizers.
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Cut back dead foliage in late winter before new growth emerges. Some evergreen grasses just need edges trimmed.
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Divide grasses when they outgrow their space, usually every 3-5 years. Dig up clumps and replant divisions.
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Deer resistant varieties include switch grass, Karl Foerster, and fountain grass.
With their graceful forms and carefree nature, ornamental grasses bring a refined, natural look to gardens. They make ideal partners for all types of flowers. Plant a few this season and see how beautifully they enhance your flower beds.
Types of Ornamental Grass and Which to Plant | NatureHills.com
FAQ
What are the best low maintenance ornamental grasses?
Introduced Grasses such as Feather Reed Grass and Fountain Grass are beautiful, highly resilient, easy-to-grow, and proven garden favorites. These are popular across the country for their stunning foliage and exceptionally low-maintenance habits.
What ornamental grass comes back every year?
Perennial grasses are ones that return on their own each year, so you only need to plant them once.
What are the ornamental grasses to avoid?
- Pampas Grass. This plant’s sharp foliage makes removal challenging. …
- Lilyturf. Monkey grass is a dense ground cover that varies in invasiveness. …
- Japanese Silver Grass. This Asian grass spreads rapidly via rhizomes. …
- Fountain Grass.
Do ornamental grasses spread quickly?
Unlike evergreen trees and shrubs, ornamental grasses grow very quickly, usually reaching their mature size in two seasons. Their fast growth rate makes them ideal for privacy hedges because new plants can rapidly fill in any gaps.