Tall ornamental grasses can add gorgeous texture, movement, and visual interest to gardens and landscapes. Their slender blades and airy plumes contrast beautifully with flowers, shrubs, and other plants. Grasses come in a huge range of sizes, shapes, and colors to suit any style or need. From Mediterranean gardens to contemporary designs, including ornamental grasses is an easy way to elevate your outdoor space.
If you’re looking for inspirational and practical landscaping ideas using tall grasses you’ve come to the right place! Here are 12 creative ways to incorporate these versatile plants
Provide Screening and Privacy
Most of the time, tall grasses are used as living walls or screens. Their height and density blocks views and muffles sound. This makes the areas of your landscape more private and separate. Some excellent tall screening grasses include:
- Big bluestem – Grows up to 8 feet tall with reddish-bronze foliage
- Maiden grass – Arching leaves reach 6 feet tall with airy blooms
- Moor grass – Blue-green blades top out around 6 feet
For best results space plants 2-3 feet apart in a row. Evergreen varieties work year-round in warmer climates. Cut deciduous grasses back in early spring before growth resumes.
Soften Hardscaping and Fences
Putting grass next to walls, fences, or other hard surfaces will help them blend in with the rest of the yard. For instance, a miscanthus clump that looks like a fountain can soften the edge of a patio or run along the side of a retaining wall. Blue fescue and other low grasses look great along paths as edges. To hide chain link fences, plant taller types of grass, like maiden grass or fountain grass.
Create Striking Specimens
Use tall grasses as stand-alone focal points or thrilling accents among other plantings. Giant miscanthus, big bluestem, and pampas grass make eye-catching individual specimens. Underplant with lower grasses or perennials so the tall grass can stand out.
Accent Architectural Elements
The vertical lines and arching shapes of ornamental grasses complement and highlight architectural elements. Surround sculptures, fountains, and containers with grasses for an updated look. Use wispy grasses to contrast succulents, yuccas, bold foliage, and spiky plants.
Add Movement and Sway
Position tall, arching grasses where their leaves will flutter elegantly in the breeze. Plant them surrounding seating areas, entries, pathways, and pools to add graceful motion. Some great choices include moor grass, stipa tenuissima, and purple fountain grass.
Give Height to Plantings
Incorporate taller ornamental grasses among other perennials and shrubs to add height variation and structure. They create backbone and fullness in mixed beds. Try clumping grasses like miscanthus, switch grass or big bluestem in the center or back of borders.
Edge Walkways and Beds
Define garden beds, tree rings, and borders with a tidy ribbon of low grasses like blue fescue. Their fine texture and restrained habit make excellent edging. Plant them close together in a line to grow as a cohesive grass border. Trim any stray blades.
Grow as Groundcovers
Replace boring turf with carefree ornamental grasses in low-traffic zones or difficult spots. Pennsylvania sedge, lily turf, wild rye, and fescues spread to form soft, lush mats that choke out weeds. They need less mowing and watering than standard lawn grass.
Enhance Container Gardens
Many compact grasses thrive in containers on patios, decks, and balconies. Their spiky shapes and colors dress up mixed pots. Caret, Japanese forest grass, Korean feather reed grass, and blue fescue are great choices. Use grasses as thrillers, fillers or spillers.
Accent Shaded Areas
Shade-loving grasses like Japanese forest grass, variegated sedge, and Pennsylvania sedge can make the dark spots in your yard brighter. Their beautiful shapes and bright blades make dull spots in the garden look more interesting.
Attract Birds and Butterflies
Native grasses provide food and shelter for birds and habitat for pollinators. Little bluestem, indiangrass, and switchgrass have seeds that birds eat. Early bloomers like little bluestem give bees and butterflies spring nectar.
Provide Winter Interest
Let ornamental grasses stand over winter for late season appeal. Their dried plumes and seed heads look gorgeous with frost or light snow. Foliage often turns vivid red, orange, or yellow hues. Protect heavy seed heads from wind damage if needed.
You can use ornamental grasses in your yard in a lot of different creative ways—there are so many ways to do it. They give gardens and landscapes beauty, texture, movement, and the appeal of not needing much care. Choose your favorite tall grasses and try using them in different ways in your outdoor living areas.
Adding Privacy to the Pool Area
Utilizing landscaping ideas can help create privacy around your pool. Fencing adds both privacy and safety, keeping out prying eyes as well as children or pets when the pool is not in use. Options like wood perimeter fencing and ornamental fencing are popular choices.
Plants can also serve as a living fence, enhancing privacy while adding beauty. Tall grasses, shrubs, and evergreen trees can create a natural barrier. Other effective options include bamboo and giant reed for privacy. Additionally, vines can be trained to grow through chain-link fencing to enhance seclusion.
Easy Landscaping Ideas – Ornamental Grass
FAQ
How to use grasses in landscaping?
Edge your beds and border landscaping with ornamental grasses in a tidy line. Compact selections, such as the blue fescue shown here, are best for this. It’s best to plant grasses a little closer together than usual so they grow in a line whenever you use them as an edge.
Should tall ornamental grasses be cut back?
Do I need to cut back my ornamental grasses? Yes. By pruning ornamental grasses, you remove both dead and older parts of the plant making room for new growth. If you leave the grasses as is, they will become a bit sloppy and unwieldy over time.
How do you support tall ornamental grasses?
To support them, try using a plant cage, the kind you use for tomato plants. They are dark green and unnoticeable. They will do an adequate job of supporting the grasses through rain and wind, You might also cut the top 8-12 inches off the grass when it is early in the season to reduce the weight load on the base.
What can I do with overgrown ornamental grass?
You can cut the clump of grass into several pieces with your hands, pruning shears, a knife, or a sharp shovel or trowel. Make sure that each piece has some healthy roots. Replant them before the roots dry out, you may need to cover the exposed roots to protect them on sunny days.
Are tall grasses good for landscaping?
Tall grasses can make stunning additions to landscaping, providing unique texture, graceful movement, and autumn interest With the right choices, they are also low maintenance, drought tolerant, and stand up well to both summer heat and winter cold Read on for 15 creative ways to incorporate eye-catching tall grasses into your yard.
What is a tall ornamental grass?
Tall ornamental grasses, like fountain grass or miscanthus, can add vertical height and drama to your garden. These grasses grow tall and slender, creating a striking contrast against shorter plants. They can be placed near walls or fences, making them great for creating focal points.
How do you decorate a garden with grass?
Harvest ornamental grass stems and plumes to add intriguing texture to floral displays. Cut them while the heads are still fresh and vibrant. Good picks for arrangements include: Play with combining grasses, branches, dried materials, and garden flowers for stunning bouquets. Grasses also make long-lasting dried arrangements on their own.
What kind of grass is best for a front garden?
A front garden with mulch, perennials, and ornamental grass that is easy to take care of. A concrete path and decorative purple fountain grass. Xeriscape with feather reed grass. A mix of river rocks, dwarf evergreen bushes, and ornamental grasses for a client who wants to make the front yard’s lawn less dense.
What is a tall grass?
One of the most popular uses of tall grasses is to create living screens for privacy. Planted in groups, many ornamental grasses grow to 6 feet or more in height, blocking undesirable views and sounds. Good choices for screens include: Big bluestem – Native grass with reddish-bronze foliage that turns rich crimson in fall. Grows 5-8 feet tall.
What can I use shorter grass for?
Use Shorter Grasses as Groundcover Rock gardens, sunny slopes, dry shade, waterwise lawns, fronts of borders, no-fuss pathway edgings. The list goes on for the many beautiful uses of shorter ornamental grasses. For instance, sedge, blue fescue, mondo grass, and other compact grass options.