Add Texture and Movement to Your Flower Beds with Ornamental Grasses

Ornamental grasses are versatile plants that can provide texture, color, and motion to flower beds and gardens. With their slender blades and airy plumes, ornamental grasses contrast beautifully with broad-leaved plants and add an element of movement as they sway in the breeze. Here are some tips for using ornamental grasses in flower beds:

Choose the Right Grass for the Site

Ornamental grasses come in a wide range of sizes, shapes, and habits For flower beds, good choices include

• Small grasses under 2 feet tall like blue fescue or hairy sedge, that won’t block the view of other plants. Use them in the front of borders.

• Mounding grasses with arching foliage 2-4 feet tall, such as miscanthus, that provide vertical accents within beds

• Large specimen grasses over 4 feet, like pampas grass, as striking focal points. Give them space to stand out.

Match the grass to the site’s sun exposure, soil moisture, and function in the design.

Combine Grasses and Flowers

Grasses pair beautifully with many perennials and provide color and textural contrast. For example:

• Airy grasses like muhly grass or Mexican feather grass can “float” above broad-leaved plants like coneflowers and daylilies.

• Add vertical blades of grass among mounded flowers like asters, coral bells, and sedum.

• Let the wispy seed heads of grasses like mist flower or northern sea oats mingle with late-blooming perennials.

Vary Height for Interest

Using grasses of different heights adds layers and dimension. Try combining:

• Short grasses under 1 foot as edging plants, like blue sedge or blue fescue.

• Medium grasses 1-3 feet tall to punctuate plantings, like fountain grass or prairie dropseed.

• Tall grasses over 4 feet, like switch grass or giant reed, as specimen plants.

Varying heights creates a visually appealing tapestry effect in beds.

Consider Foliage Color

Many grasses offer foliage color to make beds more vibrant. Options include:

• Blues like blue fescue, blue oat grass, and blue lyme grass
• Golds such as golden Japanese forest grass
• Variegated types like Japanese silver grass ‘Porcupine’
• Reds and burgundies like blood grass or purple fountain grass

Use grasses to complement and contrast with flower colors.

Add Movement and Sound

One of the best qualities of ornamental grasses is how they move with the slightest breeze, bringing kinetic energy and the soothing rustle of nature to gardens. Good choices include:

• Feathery grasses like miscanthus, purple moor grass, and pink muhly
• Airy plumes of grass like purple fountain grass or goose grass
• Fine textured grasses like quaking grass, Mexican feather grass or fiber optic grass

Plant grasses where they can sway freely to add peaceful motion.

Use Grasses for Winter Interest

Many grasses hold their form through winter, adding structure and visual interest when flowers have faded. Attractive winter grasses include:

• Grasses with showy plumes like miscanthus, pampas grass, and northern sea oats
• Grasses with sturdy vertical forms such as switch grass, giant reed, and ravenna grass
• Grasses with dried seed heads like prairie dropseed, Indian grass, and pink muhly

Pair evergreen grasses with plants that have winter appeal for year-round beds.

With proper selection and placement, ornamental grasses can be invaluable additions to flower beds and gardens. Their textures, colors, volume, and fluid movement animate the landscape. By combining grasses and flowers, you can create beautiful beds that change with the seasons.