5 Reasons To Use Ornamental Grasses In Your Garden

Whilst planting schemes are very personal choices, ornamental grasses bring texture, movement and a sense of the natural to any garden. We’re sharing our top 5 reasons on why we think ornamental grasses are one of the best-kept secrets in garden design.

 

1. Visual Appeal

Ornamental grasses are available in a huge variety of textures and colours, and they can elevate any garden style. If you’re looking to create a garden with lush foliage, Hakonechloa macra is a fantastic option. This grass has broader leaves than many others, and it pairs beautifully with ferns and other green plants.

Stipa tennuissima mixed into a perennial bed by the pool

Another favourite of ours is Stipa tenuissima. Its fine, soft texture offers a delicate contrast to bold, green-leafed perennials and bright-coloured flowers. Incorporating large swathes of this grass helps to soften spaces and catches your eye as it moves with a light breeze.

2. Versatility

Ornamental grasses might not boast the large blooms of a peony or a geranium, but they are an invaluable backdrop to any planting scheme. Their understated beauty lets other plants shine, while they still bring their own visual interest through texture and movement.

Pennisetum alopecuroides ‘Hameln’ is a perfect choice when you want a grass that elevates the look of the plants around it. This variety comes to life with purple-tinged spikelets in late summer, but its rich green colour acts as the perfect accompaniment to perennials such as Anemone × hybrida ‘Honorine Jobert’.

Pennisetum alopecuroides ‘Hameln’ complementing Anemone × hybrida 'Honorine Jobert'.

3. Easy Maintenance

One of the top requests from our clients is for low-maintenance gardens, and ornamental grasses fit that brief perfectly.

Grasses typically don’t require deadheading, and they are resistant to most pests and diseases, as well as being largely ignored by herbivores. Most importantly, there are grasses to suit all types of garden environments. Carex will suit damper soils, Stipa is drought tolerant, and Hakonechloa can take deep shade – whatever your garden’s conditions, there will be a variety of grass that will thrive with minimal effort from your side.

Carex grasses used along a pathway
mixed grasses used within a planting bed

4. Seasonal Interest

Whilst grasses might not have big, showy flowers, they do bring seasonal interest to a garden scheme. In winter, grasses like Carex ‘Ice Dance’ maintain their colour and form, adding structure and interest when other plants are dormant. In spring, grasses like Sesleria heufleriana bloom early with dark purple spikelets, offering something unique when bulbs are the only other flowers on display. And in autumn, grasses like Molinia caerulea subsp. caerulea ‘Variegata’ add a dramatic touch as their leaves turn a reddish hue, complementing the surrounding trees.

Ornamental grasses used within a contemporary garden

5. Environmental Benefits

Ornamental grasses also offer important environmental benefits – their deep root systems help to prevent soil erosion, improve soil structure, and increase water infiltration. Some grasses, like Carex, are perfect for wetland habitats, as they help to filter and clean the water as it flows through the garden. Others, like Pennisetum, provide much-needed habitats for pollinators, supporting biodiversity in your garden.

Ornamental grass close up

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