Ornamental grasses are a valuable addition to any landscape, offering year-round visual interest and low maintenance appeal. Unlike lawn grasses, these varieties are meant to grow to their full height, providing texture, movement, and often striking seasonal color changes. Ornamental grasses come in a wide range of sizes and shapes, suitable for various garden designs and purposes.
These grasses are known for their resilience, with many species being drought-tolerant and resistant to pests and diseases. They can serve as focal points, border plants, or even thrive in container gardens. Many ornamental grasses also provide winter interest with their attractive seed heads and dried foliage.
Here are 10 of the best ornamental grasses to consider for your landscape.
Feather Reed Grass
Feather Reed Grass thrives in full sun and various soil types. It has good resistance to pests and diseases. In the spring, the grass is green and golden-tan in the summer.
As it matures, it becomes pinkish, fading to buff. The popular varieties include ‘Karl Foerster,’ which is known for its early bloom, and ‘Overdam’, which has white-striped foliage. The grass provides interest and vertical structure in gardens.
Blue Fescue
Blue Fescue is a low-maintenance ornamental grass that can be planted in the spring or fall. It can suffer from rust in humid conditions. The grass has a blue-gray color year-round. It produces small, wheat-like seed heads in the summer.
The intense blue color of Elijah Blue and the compact, rounded clumps of Boulder Blue are popular varieties. The taller option with a more upright growth habit is called ‘Siskiyou Blue’.
Japanese Forest Grass
Japanese Forest Grass is a shade-loving perennial grass. It is the best planted in the spring because of its rich, moist soil. Moderate disease resistance can be seen in this grass.
In the spring, its foliage starts to green, and by the fall it’s golden or reddish. ‘Aureola’ has yellow-striped leaves, ‘All Gold’ has solid golden foliage, and ‘Albostriata’ has white-striped blades.
Pampas Grass
Pampas grass, a low-maintenance perennial, thrives when planted in spring or early summer in full sun and well-drained soil. Generally disease-resistant, it may occasionally face fungal issues in humid conditions.
This grass showcases seasonal changes with green foliage in spring and summer, followed by large, feathery plumes in late summer through fall, often persisting into winter. Popular varieties include ‘Sunningdale Silver’ with white plumes, ‘Rosea’ with pink plumes, and the compact ‘Pumila’ for smaller spaces.
Switchgrass
Switchgrass, a native North American prairie grass, requires minimal maintenance once established. Best planted in spring, it demonstrates high disease resistance and drought tolerance.
Popular varieties include ‘Heavy Metal’ with blue-green foliage, ‘Shenandoah’ with red-tipped leaves, and ‘Northwind’ known for its upright form and yellow fall color.
The grass changes appearance seasonally, starting green in spring, developing airy seed heads in summer, and turning golden-yellow to reddish-bronze in fall, persisting through winter.
Fountain Grass
Fountain Grass, a low-maintenance ornamental grass, is best planted in spring or early fall. It exhibits moderate disease resistance but may be susceptible to rust in damp conditions. The plant undergoes seasonal changes, starting green in spring, developing feathery plumes in summer, and turning golden-brown in fall, often maintaining visual interest through winter.
Popular varieties include ‘Hameln’ (compact form), ‘Little Bunny’ (dwarf variety), and ‘Red Head’ (reddish plumes). Fountain Grass adapts well to various soil types and thrives in full sun.
Muhly Grass
Muhly grass, a low-maintenance perennial, thrives when planted in spring or fall. It exhibits strong disease resistance and drought tolerance. The grass maintains a green to blue-green color throughout spring and summer, then produces distinctive pink to purple plume-like flowers in late summer and fall, creating a hazy, cloud-like effect. Popular varieties include ‘Pink Muhly’, known for its rosy hues, and ‘White Cloud’, which offers a softer, pale appearance. Muhly grass requires little care beyond occasional pruning and dividing every few years to maintain vigor.
Little Bluestem
Little Bluestem is a low-maintenance, native grass best planted in spring or early summer. It demonstrates high disease resistance and drought tolerance. The grass changes color throughout the seasons, starting blue-green in spring, developing reddish-brown hues in late summer, and fading to a copper-orange in fall and winter.
Notable varieties include ‘The Blues’ with intense blue foliage, ‘Standing Ovation’ for its upright habit, and ‘Carousel’ which offers a more compact form suitable for smaller spaces.
Ribbon Grass
Ribbon Grass, a low-maintenance perennial, thrives in various conditions and is best planted in spring or fall. While resistant to many pests, it can be susceptible to rust in humid climates. Its distinctive striped leaves display green and white variegation throughout the growing season, with some cultivars showing pink tinges.
The plant maintains its coloration until frost, when it dies back. Popular varieties include ‘Feesey’s Form’, ‘Picta’, and ‘Arctic Sun’, each offering slightly different stripe patterns and growth habits.
Maiden Grass
Maiden Grass, a low-maintenance ornamental grass, thrives when planted in spring or early fall. It exhibits strong disease resistance and tolerates various soil conditions. The grass changes appearance seasonally, starting with green blades in spring, developing silvery-white plumes in late summer, and turning golden-bronze in fall, persisting through winter.
Popular varieties include ‘Gracillimus’ with narrow leaves, ‘Morning Light’ featuring variegated foliage, and ‘Zebrinus’ with distinctive horizontal yellow bands across its blades. Maiden Grass provides year-round visual interest and texture to landscapes.
c’est mon futur jardin. J’adore.
What is the blue grass that lines the pathway?