Ornamental Grasses - Decorative Grasses
...5 grasses that can add interest to your garden

by Lee Dobbins

Flowers don't have to be the sole inhabitants of gardens, adding other types of plants like decorative grasses can add interests to your garden as well as fill in some empty spots and set a beautiful background to show off your bright flowers.

Unlike lawn grass, ornamental grass is made to grow to its full height. Therefore you want to carefully choose the planting location so as to ensure your grasses do not obscure the view of shorter plants.

Hardy Pampas Grass (Cortaderia selloana):

This is a very tall grass that can grow up to 12 feet and produces white plumed flowers in September and October. It works great as a screen to screen out neighbors or other unsightly areas and grows in large clumps that can be 5 feet wide.

It grows in zones five to nine and likes moist well-drained soils with a lot of sun. If it gets too wet, however this can cause damage in winter.

Photo courtesy of tobym

this grass makes a great border but is only suitable for southern climates and grows best in zone nine. It grows in up to 4 feet and is a fast-growing plant. It comes In two colors green leaves and red leaved. You can dig the crowns up in fall and overwinter them indoors but make sure you get them before the first frost.

Photo courtesy of Daryl_Mitchell

Japanese Silver Grass:

This is commonly used in gardens and can grow from three to 6 feet in height. It grows in dense masses and Is a beautiful greenish silvery color with white pink or red flowers that bloom from late August until the first frost. These grasses grow in zones five to nine and can take a wide range of soils but prefer full sun and moist fertile soil.

Photo courtesy of H G M

Ribbon Grass:

Ribbon grass is great to put in places where you can't seem to get anything else to grow but be careful because it can be rather invasive. It is hardy in zones four through eight and can grow to three or 4 feet producing white flowers from June to October. It can tolerate a wide range of soil conditions and will grow both in sun and shade.

Photo courtesy of Bas Kers

Rabbits Tail Grass:

This grass is an annual that is rather easy to grow from seed and produces white fuzzy flowers that look like tiny rabbit tails. It is often seen in dried floral arrangements and is best grown in clumps to get the best effect. Rabbit tale grass grows to 2 feet in height and prefers well-drained soil and lots of sun. there is also a dwarf variety that only grows to 6 inches.

Photo courtesy of tanakawho

There are many decorative grasses to choose from and if you plan to add them to your garden should do a little bit of research to find out how tall they grow and how invasive they can be before planting them.

These grasses can be planned right in the ground or even putting containers for each unique exotic look that you won't find in just any garden.

Author: Lee Dobbins writes for http://grasses.garden-g8way.com where you can learn more about caring for, and choosing, lawn and ornamental grasses.

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