Ornamental grasses arrive with a bevy of garden offerings, far beyond those of supporting cast to showy flowers. Ornamental grasses offer sound and movement to a garden, delivering a natural and tranquil quality, and an informal touch few plant species can match. Their versatility is equally unparalleled. Ornamental grasses can be used as fillers, specimens, border or background plantings, ground cover, screens or even grown as container plants, as they range from low compact mounds to tall sheets of soft plumes.

Grasses are hardy species and can often grow where other plants can not. And once they are established, they require very little maintenance. They provide the perfect segue into fall by turning a warm golden color that lasts through falling leaves and winter snowstorms, and remains as a pleasant contrast to winter’s barren landscape.

Planting & Care:

Ideally, you want to plant ornamental grasses in the spring, in an area that provides 3-5 hours of direct sunlight. Because grasses won’t reach their full potential until their third year, give them plenty of room by spacing them as far apart from other species as you can. Place grasses in a hole deep enough that the root ball will be slightly deeper than the plant in its container. And provide plenty of water, during planting time, and every week until the plant becomes well-established.

In late winter or early spring, cut back plants to within 3-4 inches of the ground, before new growth emerges.

There are many varieties of ornamental grasses, but here are some of my favorites:

The Miscanthus species of grasses has numerous cultivars (or natural varieties). Miscanthus can reach up to 90 inches in height and is graced with a stunning plume display. One particular cultivar, Miscanthus sinesis ‘Silberturm,’ is one of the best varieties of tall Miscanthus, as its growth is upright and it will not topple over. Its feathery tops look especially brilliant when backlit by the sun.

Another variety, Pennisetum alopecuroides, or fountain grass by its common name, grows up to 3 feet in an upright, open-mound formation. This plant produces a colorful display in full bloom, with color changing from whitish-purple to coppery-purple and eventually yellow-gold in fall. This grass provides a good transition between formal and natural areas. One particular cultivar, ‘Little Bunny,’ is the smallest of the pennisetums and is a good choice for a container garden.

Panicum virgatum, or switch grass, is a group of perennial grasses that grows in large clumps, 3-6 feet tall, with large and wide flower heads. The cultivar, ‘Haense Herms,’ shows red coloration in its leaves early in the summer which gradually spread throughout the whole plant by fall.

Helictotrichon sempervirens, or blue oat grass, grows to a height of two feet with narrow leaves on arching stems that taper to a fine point. Drooping clusters of pale blue flowers cling to each stem. This species has a high drought tolerance.

With a thriving crop of ornamental grasses on your property, you will add a vertical presence to your landscape that will reward you time and time again through both sight -- they have an almost ethereal quality as the sun shines through them -- and sound -- they produce a melodic movement sure to melt away the day's stress.