There are so many beautiful ornamental grasses out there! When you can put the right varieties together, it truly makes for a pleasing treat for the eyes to see. That’s why I put together some of my favorite ornamental grass garden ideas for you.
Whether you want to create a whole new garden bed devoted to beautiful grasses or just spice up a bland part of the yard, ornamental grasses are a brilliant option because there are so many varieties. You may just have to do a little research to find out which ones will work best for your new project.
I’ll be sure to include pictures and descriptions in hopes that you are inspired to create your very own ornamental grass garden! There really is nothing to it. The most important rule in my book is to have fun being creative!
Create A Winter Garden
The good thing about ornamental grasses is they look good even in the winter. Not only that but many of them change color and put on a magnificent display in the cooler months. Feather Reed Grass almost appears to be alive as it gracefully sways in the cool breeze.
Reed Grass is an absolute favorite of many gardeners because of the beautiful flower plume that actually changes from a reddish color to tan in the fall and winter.
Miscanthus grass is green in the summer months and almost burgundy in the winter.
Pampas is another favorite variety of mine because it can grow up to a staggering 10 feet tall! And much like the Reed Grass is has a beautiful plume in top.
The awesome thing about all of these grasses is that they do great in many different climates. They keep their shape in the winter months and look so serene covered in white snow. Very pleasing to look at.
Create Some Privacy
While privacy fences look nice, lumber can be so expensive! Why not plant some pampas grass to create some privacy? Or maybe some nice maiden or zebra grass. These options have so many advantages. A lot of them are fast-growing, deer resistant, and low maintenance.
Out of all the grasses out there, my favorite has to be that zebra grass. Not only will it offer you plenty of privacy but the variegated foliage is so pretty and interesting to look at!
Believe it or not, bamboo is also a tall grass. And once it’s well-established, it’ll make the perfect border for your yard with a kind of “jungle look” in my opinion. But be sure and plant the hardy clumping kind because it’s actually easier to manage and won’t run all over the place.
Pampas grass is great too. It’s hardy and drought tolerant and looks great as a border. Well I’ve seen it used as a border and clumped together somewhere in the yard. Both ways look great to me. I love the white feather-like plumes on the top.
However, be sure to put it in a spot where it has plenty of room to grow because it gets tall and it gets tall fast!
ADD A Border For Your Walkway
This is a creative way to add an interesting, colorful look to your yard. And there’s just so many ornamental grasses to choose from so you really want to take some time to research different grasses before you decide on one. You may want to mix in some different perennials along with grasses to add some color.
If you just want some edging along your driveway or walkway, someting small like monkey grass would look beautiful.
But if you want to kick it up a notch, you may consider fountain grass. It’s low maintenance, cold-hardy and grows 2-3 foot tall. The fox tail like flowers are a reddish purple color. Simply gorgeous!
Japanese Forest Grass is a nice option for a walkway or garden border. The yellow leaves with green stripes make it one of the prettiest ornamental grasses out there!
Beautiful Ground Cover
There are many benefits to creating ground cover with different shrubs and grasses. You could make a section in your yard just dedicated to ornamental grasses that won’t need to be mowed and will just be all around low maintenance. And it will look amazing too!
Or perhaps there’s a hill or a slope on your property that’s difficult to mow. You could always replace that part of your lawn with a noninvasive type like blue grama grass or little bluestem. You won’t have to worry about these types taking over your entire lawn because they’re noninvasive.
In my opinion nothing is prettier than a giant oak tree with monkey grass growing under it’s canopy! That may be an option for you if you have an oak or just about any kind of tree on your property.
Happy Gardening
Well that about wraps it up. I hope that I was able to help you out with some ideas for your future projects. If so, please share this post with your friends on social media. Or feel free to comment below.
Thank you for reading!
Billy