Wednesday, July 4, 2012

Top 10 Landscape Design Uses for Ornamental Grasses



CrabappleLandscapExperts know there are many benefits of using ornamental grasses in landscape design. Grasses are low maintenance and they provide year-round interest. Grasses are fast-growing and drought-tolerant. They attract wildlife and gently move in the wind.

There are grassesfor any type of landscape situation, from drought tolerance, shade resistance, or beautiful ornamental inflorescence.  

(left) Exceedingly fine and delicate Mexican Feather Grass

Top 10 uses for ornamental grasses in the landscape: 
  1. Add texture –light and filmy contrast to large leaf perennials and geometric shrubbery  
  2. Soften hardscaping- mobile waving of grass in contrast to solid buildings dramatic effect of mass planting
  3. Dress up decks, pools and patios- formal repetition in containers or casual groupings
  4. Edging- short tufty grasses loike blue fescue, grassy substitutes like Liriope, sedge or carex
  5. Fill containers colorfully- formally repeated containers or casual groupings 
  6. Fall and winter interest- tough stalks last through several seasons and bleach in sun
  7. Attract wildlife- with grass seeds and grains
  8. Groundcover – turf grasses, mondo grass and Liriope
  9. Create a garden accent- specimen plant in a perennial border
  10. Add privacy- tall grasses like switch grass, reed grass, miscanthus, pampas grass can provide a quick-growing screen 

 Beautiful pink flowering spikes of native Muhly Grass (left)

(right)  Zebra Miscanthus has striking transversely-striped foliage










photos courtesy Wiki Commons. 

5 comments:

  1. I live in North Texas, at my other house it lived and grew beautifully and it was doing good for 1 1/2 years at this house now it is turning brown and dieing. What could the problem be?
    Thanks:
    Landscape designer VA

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Conry, grasses may turn brown if there is a drainage problem- for example, in your former house were the ornamental grasses planted on a slope? Did you replace a perennial grass at the old house with an annual grass at your new house? Just a couple of suggestions why they might be dying.

      Delete
  2. Nice blog This is really an annual in most areas. Yet it is very attractive due to the fact that it has maroon colored foliage.

    Landscape Design Virginia

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Kenzie. Yes some of the grasses I included are not cold tolerant and are treated as annuals but metro-Atlanta where Crabapple LandscapExperts operates is USDA Zone 8A and pretty warm.

      Delete
  3. Hi Conry, grasses may turn brown if there is a drainage problem- for example, in your former house were the ornamental grasses planted on a slope? Did you replace a perennial grass at the old house with an annual grass at your new house? Just a couple of suggestions why they might be dying.

    Thanks, Kenzie. Yes some of the grasses I included are not cold tolerant and are treated as annuals but metro-Atlanta where Crabapple LandscapExperts operates is USDA Zone 8A and pretty warm.

    Thank you both, gardengeri

    ReplyDelete