When most homeowners think about grass in their yard, they envision a lush — but often high-maintenance — stretch of lawn. However, this isn't the only type of grass that can make your yard look great. Don't overlook ornamental grasses and their many benefits. To help you decide if ornamental grass is right for your landscape, here is what you need to know.
What Are Ornamental Grasses?
Ornamental grasses are a wide range of grass species that are grown simply for aesthetic or decorative purposes. They are ornaments for your yard rather than lawns. Species include fountain grass, feather reed grass, blue oat grass, maiden grass, Ravenna grass, blue fescue, and zebra grass. Each species has its own sizes, shapes, colors, and textures.
Where Can You Use Ornamental Grass?
So, if these grasses are not used in lawns, how might you deploy them? They actually bring many things to the table.
For instance, these grasses tend to be tall, bushy, and move freely in the breeze. This makes them great for adding height and interest to flower beds or around trees. Taller grasses might serve as a border on a pathway or mark the beginning or end of an outdoor zone. They work well in container gardening, adding bulk and height around smaller flowers and hanging vines.
That height also means more privacy. Some grasses can grow very tall. You can extend this height by using container gardening. And the grasses' bushy nature means more privacy lower to the ground than is provided by trees and other shrubs.
Most ornamental grasses are also low maintenance and hardy, so they're excellent ways to reduce workload and water usage in your yard. Switchgrass and little bluestem, for instance, thrive in full sun and low-moisture, well-drained soil. Their large size and bulbous growth patterns also mean that they have a large footprint in your landscape with lower maintenance needs.
Finally, many types of grass offer off-season color and lushness when other plants are starting to die back. Feather reed grass is known for its winter colors, while Ravenna grass lights up the fall landscape.
Where to Learn More
Can ornamental grasses improve your yard, add visual interest, boost privacy, or reduce maintenance? Find out by meeting with a local landscaping service today. When you draw on their expertise and training, you'll soon find the perfect way to incorporate this overlooked garden design tool.
Share7 April 2023
Hello, I’m Donna. Welcome. I am excited to share my passion for landscaping with you all. I regularly change the layout of my garden, depending on the plants I want to grow each year. I keep my garden beds full of flowers and edible plants to have a variety of vegetation to enjoy. I would like to use this site to cover all of those varieties and talk about the growing techniques and supplies that work best for each option. I invite you to visit daily to learn the information you need to help your garden grow. Thanks for visiting my site.