If your definition of "grass" is something that surrounds a suburban house and needs frequent mowing, think again. Ornamental grasses provide texture and motion to add an interesting and dramatic component to your garden or landscape. Although not all ornamental grasses are the "true" grasses of the Poaceae family, they all generally have similar characteristics --- narrow, strappy leaves, a color range of greens, browns and yellows, a graceful, curving growth pattern, and small flower clusters known as inflorescences.
The majority of grasses grow best in full sun, but some, particularly the variegated types, will thrive in light shade. Other than providing the growing conditions they like, ornamental grasses are pretty low maintenance. They don’t need a lot of water, once established, although any plant in a container will require more water than one in the ground. It’s not necessary to fertilize grasses heavily, as too much nitrogen can promote lush growth which causes the leaves to flop over. The other appealing characteristic of grasses is that they are reasonably pest and disease resistant.
Among the perennial grasses, there are both cool-season and warm-season types. Cool-season grasses, such as fescues, start growing actively in late winter and early spring. They flower in spring and early summer, but once the thermometer tops 75 degrees, their growth slows down. At this point, you can clean out any dead foliage and cut back the top growth by half. Warm-season grasses, such as certain types of miscanthus and fountain grass, thrive in the heat. They start growing in late spring and flower and set seed into late summer and fall. By late winter/early spring, their top growth will become scraggly and unattractive, so cut them back 4-6 inches above the soil and new growth will start to become visible. As with all plant purchases, choose the ornamental grasses that are best suited to your growing conditions and climate. Visit your local nurseries and check around your neighborhood to see what thrives in your area.
Although many ornamental grasses in the landscape tend to be quite large and sprawling, they are actually well-suited to containers, either as a backdrop to more showy flowering plants or as a dramatic stand-alone statement in your garden. I’ve always found that they add wonderful texture interspersed among other plants, with their arched growth. The inflorescences, which are usually spikey or feathery, also add another unique dimension, and the seed heads provide interest well into the fall in most climates.
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