Adding grass-like flowers to your garden beds and borders is a great way to add texture, movement, and lovely greenery. A lot of grass plants have pretty spikes or panicles of feathers that sway beautifully in the wind. These plants come in many shapes, sizes, and colors of leaves to fit any landscaping need.
When planted in groups, bulbs with grassy leaves can look like a lawn or meadow while also making the garden more interesting to look at and appealing to pollinators. If you want to add some bulbs that look like ornamental grasses to your garden, here are some tips:
1. Chives
The thin, grassy leaves of chives grow in pretty clumps that look great along garden borders and walkways. Late in the spring, bright purple flower clusters appear on tall stalks above the leaves. These flowers attract bees and are eaten before the chive buds appear. You can regularly pick chives’ grassy leaves to use as an herb. There are also varieties grown for their pretty flowers, like “Forescate,” which has big lavender blooms.
2. Ornamental Onions
Similar to chives, ornamental alliums offer grassy straplike foliage and round flower clusters Some popular options include globemaster alliums with giant 12-inch purple flowerheads and drumstick alliums with egg-shaped burgundy blooms. The foliage dies back after flowering but returns the next year Plant en masse for a big impact.
3. Lilyturf
Despite its name, lilyturf is not a true lily but produces attractive grassy leaves in spreading clumps. Low-growing varieties like liriope spicata and creeping lilyturf make excellent lawn substitutes and groundcovers. Taller options add texture when planted as accents or mass plantings. Lilyturf blooms in late summer with spikes of lavender or white flowers.
4. Blue-Eyed Grass
A member of the iris family, blue-eyed grass has slender, grassy leaves growing in dense clumps close to the ground. This pretty spring wildflower blooms with flowers that resemble blue-purple crocuses. Try planting blue-eyed grass as a groundcover or edging around garden beds and walkways. It spreads rapidly when happy.
5. Sparaxis
Sparaxis offer bright flowers on plants with grassy, iris-like foliage. Try planting the harlequin flower sparaxis which produces gorgeous white blooms with purple centers. Other types have yellow, orange, pink, or red blooms. The thin leaves often wither by early summer. Plant sparaxis bulbs in drifts for a spectacular spring display.
6. Foxtail Lily
Despite the name, foxtail lily is not a true lily but has grassy foliage and looks great planted en masse. In summer, fox tail lily sends up spikes packed with tubular blooms in shades of pink, rose, cream, yellow, or white. Varieties like ‘Alba’ offer elegantly arching stems with white flowers. Plant in groups for the best effect.
7. Snowflake
Snowflakes are a reliable spring bulb that has thin, grassy leaves and lots of white flowers that look like their name. The nodding, bell-shaped blooms dangle delicately from thin stalks. Snowflakes are easy to bring into your garden. They grow into big colonies that bloom for a few weeks in late winter and early spring.
8. Winter Aconite
Buttercup-like yellow flowers sit atop lacy, ferny foliage on this charming spring ephemeral. Winter aconite blooms early, sometimes even poking through snow. The low-growing ferny leaves die back by summer. Naturalize this deer-resistant bulb in moist, shady spots or under trees.
9. Grass Lilies
Despite their name, grass lilies are actually part of the lily family. They earn their common name from their slender, grassy looking foliage. Plant blackberry lily bulbs for unusual-looking orange flowers followed by large seed pods that resemble blackberries. Plant en masse along borders or walkways.
10. Spanish Bluebells
Spanish bluebells produce clumps of slender, grassy leaves close to the ground. In spring, they bloom with clusters of gorgeous blue bell-shaped flowers on 8-12 inch stems. Allow them to naturalize for a gorgeous spring display year after year. They do well in part shade areas.
How to Use Grass-Like Bulbs in Your Garden
When designing with grassy bulbs, keep these tips in mind:
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Plant bulbs in groups or clusters for maximum impact rather than spacing them out. Most grassy bulbs look best when allowed to naturalize over time.
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Choose a combination of early and late spring bloomers to extend the season of color. Mix heights for visual interest.
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Mass bulbs under trees and shrubs where they can naturalize freely.
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Use grassy bulbs as edging along beds, borders, pathways and driveways. Low growers work well as living groundcovers.
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Plant bulbs with grassy leaves on slopes or banks to control erosion. Their fibrous roots help hold soil in place.
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Add bulbs with airy blooms and foliage to perennial and cutting gardens. They make great companion plants.
The fine textures and graceful, flowing forms of grassy bulbs make them excellent choices for any garden. Use them en masse for a beautiful meadow effect or individually as specimen plants. Just be sure to give spreading types sufficient room to naturalize and multiply over time. With the wide range of grass-like bulbs available, you’re sure to find many that are perfect for your landscape.
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FAQ
What looks like grass but has bulbs?
Onion grass comes from the group of plants that grow from bulbs, also known as “Amaryllidaceae. Onion grass doesn’t have to die every season because it is a perennial. It can live for many years. Wild onion grass can even survive the winter by storing food in its bulb underground.
What is the flower that looks like grass?
Liriope muscari “Royal Purple,” which is also called “Money Grass,” is an ornamental grass with dark purple flower spikes that rise above the dark green, grass-like leaves. The flowers are followed by black berries.
What is an ornamental grass that comes back every year?
Perennial grasses are ones that return on their own each year, so you only need to plant them once. An example of a hardy perennial grass is Prairie Winds® ‘Cheyenne Sky’ switch grass, pictured here.
What are the light green weeds that look like grass?
If you are seeing a strange light green grass in the lawn, you are probably seeing foxtail or crabgrass. These are considered grassy weeds (different than broadleaf weeds like clover and dandelions).