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Ornamental Grasses—A Beautiful, Low-Maintenance Design

Plants & Gardens News Volume 19, Number 3 | Fall 2004/Winter 2005

by Joan McDonald

When we think of low-maintenance plants for our front gardens, we usually think of conifers or broad-leaved evergreen shrubs. But there's another group of plants worth considering: the ornamental grasses. Available in a wide range of forms and colors, grasses are amazingly versatile. Use them as single specimens, grow them in masses, or combine them with other tough and easy-to-grow perennials (see the border design below for ideas). Grasses have many winning features. They sway and rustle in the wind, creating a graceful and restful motion picture. Their delicate textures and long, flexible leaves offer interest all season long. Some have beautiful fall and winter silhouettes. Grasses need little care. Just make sure to plant them in a sunny site, preferably with well-drained, humus-rich soil. And cut back dead foliage in early spring before new leaves start to grow.

Featured Grasses

  1. Calamagrostis x acutiflora 'Karl Foerster' (feather reed grass) A narrow, upright plant, 'Karl Foerster' has deep green foliage that turns gold in autumn. Its feathery pink-bronze summer plumes fade to a warm wheat color and last well into winter. Height: Six feet. USDA Hardiness Zones 5 to 9.
  2. Helictotrichon sempervirens (blue oat grass) This handsome evergreen grass produces highly rolled gray-blue leaves. Purple-tinted flower spikes sit atop stiff, upright stems in summer and mature to a straw color. Height: Four feet. Zones 4 to 9.
  3. Panicum virgatum 'Shenandoah' (switch grass) The blue-green leaves of this native cultivar develop a reddish tinge on their tips in the summer. By fall, all the foliage turns a spectacular burgundy color. Upright, airy red flower panicles are produced in summer. Height: Three feet. Zones 5 to 9.
  4. Schizachyrium scoparium 'The Blues' (little bluestem) Native to the Great Plains, this is a clump-forming grass with strong, upright blue foliage. In the fall, the leaves and feathery seed heads change to a golden amber color. Height: Three feet. Zones 4 to 10.
ornamental grasses

Perennial Companions

  1. Echinacea purpurea 'Magnus' (purple coneflower)
  2. Eupatorium maculatum 'Gateway' (joe-pye weed)
  3. Monarda x 'Violet Queen' (bee balm)
  4. Perovskia atriplicifolia (Russian sage)
  5. Rudbeckia fulgida var. sullivantii 'Goldsturm' (black-eyed Susan)
  6. Sedum 'Herbstfreude' (autumn joy stonecrop)

Joan McDonald is a former manager of BBG's Gardener's Resource Center and current owner of Gardens by Design, a private garden design, installation, and maintenance business, which can be contacted by e-mail at gardensbyjoan@aol.com.

Illustration: Paul Harwood