The best ornamental grasses for your garden
Ornamental grass may not be the showstoppers of the border – in fact their appeal is quite subtle – but they do add an extra dimension to the flowerbed and keep the garden interesting for longer, weaving in among other plants and adding movement.
The slightest breeze will set them swaying, especially later in the year when their flowering heads dance on slender stems and the low light filters through them, illuminating their delicate beauty.
In the wild, grasses have adapted to virtually every environment, from full sun to deep shade and waterlogged to parched. They can be found in every shape and size too, from the low-growing grasses that we mow to make our lawns, to the towering Arundo donax that reaches over four metres high. This makes ornamental grasses incredibly useful in our gardens, and no matter the size of your plot, there are grasses that will enhance it, as long as you choose the right one.
Grass plants: right plant, right place
Although some grasses will grow happily in shade, most prefer a sunny open position and do best in average to dry soil. Planting is possible at any time of the year provided the soil conditions are good, but avoid doing it in frosty weather. If you have a heavy, wet soil, delay planting grasses that need good drainage until spring.
According to grass specialist Neil Lucas of Knoll Gardens in Dorset, grasses work well en masse because they're strongly architectural, but they're just as happy in mixed plantings and need little in the way of aftercare once established. 'More wow with less work is my maxim for gardening with ornamental grasses,' he says. 'They're a beautiful easy-care group of plants, but to get the best out of them, a little timely maintenance is needed.
'There are two types of ornamental grasses – deciduous and evergreens. Pruning and aftercare depends on which they are, so it is important to know what type you have.'
Ornamental grasses: taking care
Neil explains that during winter, deciduous grasses, including miscanthus, panicum and pennisetum, tend to have dried stems and look dead, so these can be cut right to the base any time from late February onwards. Evergreens such as carex, festuca and pheasant's tail grass (Anemanthele lessoniana) are comparatively easy – if they look good they need no pruning at all, although you may want to 'comb' the pheasant grass with your fingers to remove the flowered stems once they start to look messy.
Some evergreens, such as the blue festucas, may look tired after a year or so and can then be cut back quite hard to encourage new growth, but it's important not to do this until the grass is in active growth, otherwise there's a good chance of damaging the plant.
Something else to bear in mind is that grasses, like any other plants, have a variety of life spans. Stipa tenuissima may live for three to five years, while hakonechloa or panicum could last for 20 years. Pheasant grass is short-lived, so its need to seed is greater than the longer-lived varieties. Anyone who grows it will know that its seedlings pop up all over the garden. There will be more than you need, but plan for the loss of the original plant and have enough seedlings to keep the 'colony' alive – and treat the others as weeds.
The Best Ornamental Grasses
• These are the best ornamental grasses that will work in most gardens, as chosen by grass specialist Neil Lucas
Panicum virgatum 'Northwind'
A newish cultivar and one of the most distinctive, with a strongly upright habit and simply stunning autumn foliage; great for the border or containers.
Carex morrowii 'Ice Dance'
Almost indestructible ground cover for dry shade, forming mats of lightly variegated evergreen leaves that look attractive all year round.
Pennisetum alopecuroides 'Dark Desire'
Amazing large bottlebrush-like flowers are produced in profusion from mid-summer onwards. It looks lovely in full sun.
Molinia caerulea
A great native grass that also works beautifully in gardens. There are several cultivars but all have freely produced flowers that set off other plants almost perfectly.
Hakonechloa macra 'Aureola'
Fantastic cover in sun or shade that also makes a fabulous container plant; long-lived slowly increasing mounds make this a deservedly popular plant.
Miscanthus 'Starlight'
Grows in a wonderful free-flowering compact form with a distinctive rounded shape; ideal where larger miscanthus would be too big or in loose informal drifts.
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