Garden Idea: Designing an Ornamental Grass Garden

An ornamental grass garden is the perfect addition to a yard needing rich, exciting foliage and texture. Including ornamental grasses not only adds to the aesthetic appeal of your garden but it gives it a natural elegance that is sometimes lacking in traditional gardens.

Tall ornamental grasses that work well in landscaping are Variegated Maiden Grass, Variegated Prairie Cord Grass, Zebra Grass, Silver Feather Grass, and Pampas Grass. Pampas grass and Silver Feather Grass both provide quite a show in the fall, Pampas grass especially with its huge white spikes that look like feather dusters.

Medium height grasses include Ribbon Grass, Flame Grass, Fountain Grass, Manna Grass, and Witch Grass. Fountain grass is one of the more popular ornamental grasses used in landscaping because of its tight compact form, purple plumes and it gold colored foliage in the fall. If you decide to use Ribbon Grass in your garden, make sure you leave it enough space to grow and watch for any stray blades that decide to root themselves where you did not plant them. Ribbon Grass is considered an invasive plant and it can be very aggressive when the conditions are right.

Short grasses tend to be a little more showy when it comes to foliage and flowers. Some great grasses to include in your garden are Mosquito Grass, Hare's-tail Grass, Squirreltail Glass, Red Fesque, and Snowy Wood Rush. Squirreltail and Mosquito Grass have light wispy plumes that bloom towards the end of summer. If you have a large yard or field that you want to fill with grasses both of these are a good choice. Neither plants gets to tall so you can walk through a field of them, and the grass blades are soft enough to roll in if you are even inclined.

Your ornamental grass garden will require very little maintenance once it has been planted. Remember to place your garden in an area that recieves full sun and drains well for the best results. If you experience a drought, water the garden once every ten days till it begins to rain again. At the end of the growing season cut back the foliage on all your grasses to encourage new growth next summer.