How to Landscape and Garden Using Ornamental Grasses

Ornamental grasses grow in a clumping fashion.

Ornamental grasses are members of the Gramineae family. Members of this family range from dwarf varieties that grow less than 1 foot tall to varieties that reach over 10 feet. Not all of the ornamental grasses are green. Some of the grasses are silver, blue or red. The diversity of these grasses allows for many uses in the landscape and garden. They are disease- and pest-resistant and tolerate wide variety of soil types and pH levels.

Instructions

1. Plant ornamental grasses along the front of your home in a foundation garden. Traditionally, foundation gardens use evergreen or deciduous shrubs as focal points. Using ornamental grasses, rather than traditional shrubs, gives an airy or light feel to the front of your home. A foundation garden needs to include ornamental grasses of different sizes. Plant large species, such as fountain grass, in the back of the foundation garden. Use smaller species, such as squirrel tail barley, in the front of the garden.

2. Add plantings of ornamental grasses to an established perennial bed. Perennial flowers do not bloom for the entire growing season. Blue fescue and Japanese blood grass both have colorful foliage. This foliage can add color and texture when the perennial plants are dormant or not in bloom.

3. Use ornamental grasses as a privacy screen. You can use the largest varieties of ornamental grasses to block the view of a swimming pool from the road, unsightly area of the yard or even a neighbor's property. Plant ornamental grasses in mass planting to achieve a screen. Plant five giant reed grass plants in a grouping to grow a large, thick privacy screen. Plant groupings along a straight line for the effect of a property divide.

4. Plant small varieties of ornamental grasses in hanging baskets or planters. Add mondo grass in a planter with brightly colored annuals. The mondo grass will add height to the container and a background for the summer annuals.

5. Plant ornamental grasses near a backyard pond. Grasses such as Juncus and

   Carex will thrive in the damp soil surrounding a pond.

6. Stabilize slopes with quick-spreading ornamental grasses. Blue lyme grass and silver banner grass will spread quickly and stop erosion happening on a hillside or slope. When planting either of these grasses, use a barrier, such as a small wall, to stop them from becoming invasive to other areas.

References

• University of Tennessee: Ornamental Grasses in the Landscape
• North Carolina State University: Elymus arenarius (Leymus arenarius)
• The Ohio State University: Arundo donax

Resources

• The Trial Gardens at UGA: Juncus inflexus 'Blue Arrows'