These beautiful ornamental grasses can provide four seasons of interest in any landscape.
Wispy ornamental grasses are among the most versatile plants in a landscape.
They spin up the gamut from towering over your head to just a few inches tall.
Credit: Richard Felber
Some types need lots of sun while othergrasses don’t mind a little shade.
There are even ornamental grasses that offer four seasons of interest.
These top picks are some of the best grasses for landscaping your yard.
Credit: Martin Tessler
You’ll especially love how they look and sound when rustling gently in a breeze.
Many ornamental grasses have a tendency to escape gardens and outcompete native species in natural areas.
Even native grasses can become weedy in the right conditions.
Credit: Marty Baldwin
Light green flowers with a purple tinge appear in panicles above the foliage in late spring to early summer.
One of the most reliable performers is ‘Elijah Blue’.
The foliage turns shades of bronze-orange in the fall.
Credit: John Reed Forsman
It also has a tidy mounded habit and won’t spread and take over your garden.
Spikelets of bluish-brown flowers appear above the foliage in summer and mature to a golden wheat color by fall.
The low-growing species, also known asJapanese forest grass(Hakonechloa macra)has a nearly-perfect mounding habit.
Credit: Peter Krumhardt
Variegated selections such as ‘Aureola’ or ‘All Gold’ havebrightly colored foliagethat light up shady corners.
The plants look striking in a landscape andattract birds.
Look for ‘Purple Majesty’, a compact selection with purple stems, leaves, and flower heads.
Credit: Bryan E. McCay
Theunderutilized perennial plantis a spreading grass that thrives in moist or wet soils.
Its sharp edges will make you want to wear gloves when working with it.
It has a fine texture and low, mounding habit that is perfect for container gardens.
Credit: Charles Mann
You’ll love Its moplike tuft of fine green stems that are extremely dense and have a spilling form.
Since it stays compact, it’s also a good choice forgardening in small spaces.
Also known as Chinese silver grass, this grass offers narrow, arching foliage and silvery plumes.
Credit:Peter Krumhardt
Toadd more color to your landscape, look for variegated selections such as ‘Dixieland’.
It is also increases fire risks in invaded areas.
Check your state’s invasive plant lists before planting this grass.
Credit: Peter Krumhardt
Even cultivars touted as sterile have been found to produce viable seeds in trials.
Purple Fountain Grass
Add eye-catching color to your yard withpurple fountain grass(Pennisetum setaceum’Purpureum').
It’s a favorite of gardeners everywhere because of its burgundy-red foliage all season long.
Credit: Stephen Cridland
Its fluffy, bottlebrush-like flower spikes arch upward and outward above the foliage in summer.
This tender perennial isoften used in container gardens.
This massive, fast-growing plant sends up purplish-bronze plumes that turn to silver-gray in the fall.
Credit: John Reed Forsman
Its gray-green leaf blades develop orange tones in autumn.
The softest of breezes will flutter the seed heads that emerge green and turn a vibrant gold in autumn.
Grow it as an accent in your yard and use its spikelets for fresh ordried arrangements.
Credit: Andreas Trauttmansdorff
This grass is a good choice forpartially shaded gardenswith cool summer climates.
The plant has an attractive mounding habit as well.
This cool-season grower prefers moist habitats, like shores, meadows, and damp woodlands.
Credit: Richard Felber
Be careful when handling thisdrought-tolerant plantbecause its leaf blades are extremely sharp.
The plantsgrow well in moistor dry soils.
This graceful grass thrives in poor soil and tolerates dry conditions.
Credit: John Reed Forsman
It looks terrific planted in containers or scattered on a meadow or slope.
Mexican feather grass is a good choice for erosion control.
Mexican feather grass is considered invasive in parts of California.
Credit: Mike Jensen
This grass once dominated the tallgrass prairie which covered large parts of the Midwest.
Its blue-green foliage turns orange-yellow in fall and retains its hints of color into the winter.
The seeds in its light brown flower panicles are especially attractive to birds.
Credit: Stephen Cridland
This ornamental grass has dark green clumping foliage.
It blooms in the fall with masses of airy pink to pinkish-red flower panicles.
The seedheads, which attract birds, develop in late summer.
Credit: Stephen Cridland
The softly-arching green foliage turns orange and yellow in fall.
This fast-growing, short-lived perennial grass has beautiful, curving seed heads that look like cultivated rye spikes.
Opening green, then maturing to brown in late summer, the flower heads remain attractive into autumn.
Credit: Ian Adams
This is one of the few ornamental grasses that has adapted to dry shade conditions.
However, its pretty mounding, grasslike foliage has a similar effect in a garden.
As anexcellent groundcover, liriope thrives in sun or shade and helps control erosion on steep slopes.
Credit: Jay Wilde
Size:To 17 inches tall
Zones:4-10
Liriope spicatais considered invasive in some areas of the southeastern United States.
Frequently Asked Questions
Ornamental grasses should be planted in the spring or early fall.
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