Ornamental grasses are not often the first thing that comes to mind for many perennial gardeners, but well-chosen ornamental grasses can bring remarkable depth, contrast, texture, and movement to any garden. They are generally quite hardy, add four-season interest, can be used as a focal feature or a filler, and come in various colors and textures. Let’s dive into how to choose, use and care for these underrated perennials, as well as a few of our favorite varieties.
Why Use Ornamental Grasses In Your Landscape?
If you are looking for a relatively low-maintenance filler or focal point in your garden, ornamental grasses are always up to the task. Once planted, they don’t usually need much maintenance, they are relatively pest-resistant, and they require little watering as they are quite drought-tolerant and yet love the sun.
Ornamental grasses tend to grow well on slopes, which can help prevent soil erosion, they can create a lovely habitat for wildlife in the garden, and they are eco-friendly in the sense that they require so little water.
Ornamental grasses can serve several different purposes depending on the variety you choose. Shorter ones can act as a lovely garden border, or you can find larger ornamental grasses to act as a privacy barrier or fill in empty spaces in the garden.
Create a Focal Point In Your Garden With Ornamental Grasses
Ornamental grasses can make for a wonderful focal point in the garden with their notable textures, colors, and whimsical form. They can be used to line walkways or driveways, or you can dress up a front porch by adding showy grasses like purple fountain grass in containers on either side of a doorway.
Creating Privacy With Ornamental Grasses
While many might automatically think of shrubs when creating a natural privacy wall, ornamental grasses are great at this as well! Switchgrass, for example, is native to North America, will grow to anywhere from three to six feet tall, offering a reasonable amount of privacy to your garden. It is easy to grow in either moist or dry conditions and has oil-rich seeds that offer a wonderful food source for birds during the winter months.
Some Favorite Cold-Hardy Ornamental Grasses
Here in Bismarck, it is important to be conscious of the climate when selecting any type of plants for your garden, but luckily there are some lovely cold-hardy varieties of ornamental grasses that will thrive beautifully here, all the while offering that visual interest and texture that we love about these underrated perennials so much.
Blue fescue is a gorgeous, colorful ornamental grass with plumes of pale blue foliage and delicate yellow flowers. Its fine texture makes it a lovely companion plant. Blue fescue is hardy in zones 4 through 8, enjoys full sun and well-draining soil. It will grow to about a foot tall and spread to approximately six to nine inches at maturity.
Little bluestem, also native to North America, is an adaptable ornamental grass that offers four-season interest. It blooms in a lovely bluish-green color before transitioning to rust-colored foliage in the fall topped with fluffy, whimsical white seed heads. It grows in bunches that reach approximately three feet high and a foot in diameter, and in addition to their delightful appearance, the seed heads on little bluestem are also much-loved by wildlife like songbirds and game birds.
Japanese silver grass is quite a popular clumping ornamental grass that grows tall, arching plumes of foliage in varying heights and colors like purple, pink, silver, and even red. It can grow anywhere from three to 10 feet tall, making it another lovely option if you are looking for a unique privacy screening or an alternative to your traditional hedge border.
If you are hoping to include some ornamental grasses in your landscape, first consider how you want to use them (i.e., as a filler, focal point, or for privacy) and then have some fun selecting the shapes, colors, and other features you would like to see displayed in your garden. To find beautiful ornamental grasses for sale in Bismarck, stop by Plant Perfect to check out our selection. One of our in-house experts will be happy to help you find the perfect variety for your purposes!