
Secondly, shorter evergreens, including carex varieties, grow well in damp, shaded conditions, and Hakonechloa macra, cope in dry shade, making them a great choice if you're looking for garden shade ideas.

Firstly, taller deciduous varieties, which thrive in the sun and have lovely seedbeds. Ornamental grasses are split into two main groups. Always be wary of vigorous spreaders, such as ribbon grass, which can take over. Plant it alongside the white-edged Hosta ‘Francee’ for good effect. Another good choice is I mperata cylindrica ‘Rubra’, producing blood-red spikes that fade to bright green at the base and become translucent by late summer. Make sure you use the best-behaved clump-forming ornamental grasses, such as fountain grass or Pennisetum.
Ornamental grass garden layout update#
Traditional gardeners like ornamental grasses too, mainly using them to stretch the interest in their cottage-style borders into fall and beyond.įor the best effect, and to update your flower beds, simply weave them alongside sedums, asters and heleniums, so that their spiky flowers contrast with the flat heads and daisy blooms of these late-flowering perennials. This ‘natural’ style is a brilliant solution for linking formal parts of the garden to the surrounding countryside. You’ll find perennials, such as verbascum or mulleins, poppies, day lilies and red hot pokers work best when planted in among a river of swaying grasses, just as you’d see in the American prairies. In the depths of winter, ornamental grasses like Calamagrostis x acutiflora ‘Karl Foerster’, Molinia caerulea ‘Transparent’ and evergreen Stipa gigantea also become eye-catching ice sculptures when covered in a foggy mist, or ice and snow.
Ornamental grass garden layout plus#
Plus they have see-through, wispy growth and swaying flowers that take on a magical quality when gilded with spider’s webs and frost. They provide a seemingly endless variety of color and texture.

The unfussy form of ornamental grasses has made them a stalwart of the contemporary garden designer’s plant palette. Ornamental grasses are surprisingly easy to grow, no matter the condition of your garden. Ornamental grasses not only add movement but also bring a pleasing musical note to the garden as they rustle and gently sway in the breeze. Many develop into ground-hugging hummocks, making them great weed suppressants.Ĭonsider adding them to a rock garden, or replacing a tired lawn in a small backyard, for example, with a no-mow carpet of shorter ornamental grass.Įvergreen varieties give year-round cover and little room for the unwanted plant invaders to squeeze through. They come in vibrant colors and sumptuous textures that delight throughout the year. The grass isn't always greener, particularly when you look at the amazing ornamental varieties that are available.
