Ornamental Grass Guide

Ornamental Grass Guide

While most of us may feel that we are in a constant war with grass – the lawnmower being our main weapon – some find grasses to be perfect for a stylish edge in their garden. They can offer a great accompaniment to brighter blooms with their subtle and delicate colours and flowers. Ornamental grass can be a superb was to bring a bit of wildness into the garden.

Misconceptions

The main worry about using grass as feature in your garden is the fear of it “over-running” your lawn and taking over the whole garden. This is simply not true of most grasses. Most grasses available for sale will be mostly well behaved, forming in “clumps” instead of spreading wildly.

Grass and Your Garden

Contrary to popular thought grass is not the staple canvas, the negative space of a garden which you can apply flowers and features to. In spring they arrive in green shoots, summer shows plumes and blooms – offering a touch of colour and towards autumn they turn to wheaty gold and yellows.

You can begin to understand why they are becoming popular amongst gardeners with less time to dedicate days to single flowers and trees. They require very little in the way of looking after and are a great low maintenance option for the busiest among us.

How to Grow Ornamental Grass

There are so many varieties out there you are bound to find something which compliment s your garden. For example, if you want some reds in your garden for almost all year round then Japanese Blood Grass may be the perfect installation.

Most grasses enjoy full sun – as most of their existence is geared towards harsher terrains, savannas, tundras and coasts. Find out where your grass is from and then you will be part-way to understanding the kind of soil, heat and directness of light they enjoy.

Because of their hardiness ornamental grass tends to not need much in the way of watering and can easily take the kind onslaught of a drought which would leave the rest of the garden a desert. With this in mind keep your grasses away from water-dependant plants – excessive moisture may make the grass struggle and the water needy will probably suffer from not having enough moisture.

Having a healthy selection of ornamental grasses is easy because many of them propagate well (some say too well). While the idea of grasses overrunning the garden may not be true in most cases there are still some which will need cutting back regularly – do your research before you buy!