How to Incorporate Ornamental Grasses Into Your Landscape

These low-maintenance perennials add a sense of motion to the garden.

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Filed under: Ornamental Grass, Low Maintenance Gardening

Grasses such as this Mexican feather grass (Nasella tenuissima) provide a splendid display in mass plantings.

What's relatively hassle-free, attractive, and the latest rage? Bob Davenport and Joe House, owners of the Lotus Valley Nursery and Gardens have spent more than 13 years producing, propagating and pampering a vast collection of ornamental grasses.

"From the wispy red fountain grass to the big impressive bamboo forest, grasses can add that certain something to your yard and garden," says master gardener Paul James. And not only are these plants beautiful, they are an easy to grow, low-maintenance addition to any landscape.

So just how do you go about adding grasses to your landscape? "Just find out what type of grass will grow in your area, then plant away," says James.

A planting of prairie dropseed grass (Sporobolus cryptandrus) features vibrant orange tones in the fall.

There are several ways to incorporate ornamental grasses into a landscape--as a single specimen, in mass plantings, or mixed with other perennials. Or you can combine several varieties of grasses with other plants to create a visually diverse landscape. It all depends on the grass and the kind of look you want to achieve.

"For some grasses, the idea is to give it enough space to show its full form, and it may look better used singly then used in mass," says House. Consider the aesthetic characteristics of your garden during each season. Depending on the variety, ornamental grasses display a variety of greens, blues, golds and browns throughout the year.

"Grasses, by the time they begin growing in the spring, have a presence all summer long right up until winter," says Davenport. "And if you're lucky enough to get snowfall on them you really do have a wonderful show."

The long, wispy blades of red fountain grass add a splash of colorful movement to any setting.

Ornamental grasses also offer a sense of motion to the garden. "There's nothing more beautiful than a breeze blowing through a stand of grasses," says Davenport.

Plus, ornamental grasses are virtually maintenance-free since they don't require any particular soils or fertilizers. Other than watering (and many types are quite drought-tolerant), the only upkeep required is an annual trim.

"The best time to prune grasses is when you would prune all your perennials-- in late winter or very early spring," says Davenport. "When you see some new growth popping up amidst the old grass, then it's time to cut it back, and you just cut it about two inches from the soil."

Choose pruners according to the size of the grass mass to be trimmed. Use small cutters for container grasses and large pruning shears for mass plantings.

"They're the easiest plants you'll ever put in your garden," says Davenport. "They're not fussy. If a grass does turn out to be fussy, you're doing something wrong--you're giving it too much water or not enough or it's getting too much sun or too much shade. And they're very forgiving in that way. If a plant is not doing well, dig it up and put it somewhere else."

Lastly, you won't have to worry about pests bugging your ornamental grasses. You may occasionally see some grasshopper damage, but it's hardly enough to warrant spraying. "In my 25 years of growing ornamental grasses, I've never sprayed once," says James, "and they come back looking great year after year."