Ornamental grasses can add movement, texture and seasonal structure to a garden. Start with the site’s light, soil moisture and available space, then choose a species and cultivar that suit your climate. A good design considers mature spread and maintenance as well as the look of a plant in its nursery pot.
Landscaping with Ornamental Grasses How To’s
Use botanical names when choosing plants. Common labels such as fountain grass or feathergrass can refer to different plants with different growing needs and invasive potential. The University of Maryland’s ornamental-grass guide identifies problematic species, including ravenna grass and several bamboos. Check guidance for your own region before buying; nursery availability is not proof that a plant is appropriate.
Ornamental grasses are not managed like a regularly mown lawn, but they still need care. Some also provide wildlife habitat. The University of Minnesota’s native-grass maintenance guidance discusses seasonal cutting and division. Match the work to the species and local growing cycle rather than cutting every plant on one fixed date.
You can use a single clump, repeated groups or a larger drift. Choose the scale deliberately; ornamental grasses are not limited to small patches, and a large planting needs a realistic maintenance plan. Here are some easy but effective tips and tricks on how you could arrange ornamental grasses and give an exquisite look to your garden.
1.   Hide unpleasant areas in your garden
Most probably, there are some places in your garden which don’t look as good as you’d want them to. One option is to redesign them, but that can be costly and might take a lot of time. However, you can still use a trick and opt for landscaping with ornamental grasses.
A tall grass can screen a view seasonally. Choose a locally suitable, non-invasive species and check its mature height and spread. Big bluestem is one native option in parts of North America, but its size can overwhelm a small bed. Deciduous grasses lose their screening effect when cut back; use a separate permanent screen if year-round privacy matters. Regrowth timing varies with the plant and climate.
2.    Plant them in containers
If you have some old containers abandoned in your garage or somewhere at the back of your garden, it’s time to take them out. Choose a grass suited to container culture and a stable pot with drainage holes and room for its roots. Do not assume every species will thrive in a bucket. Plan for watering, repotting and winter protection appropriate to the plant and climate.
Then, you can arrange them either in the center of your alley or at the corners, looking like an indoor plant placed outside. For a double effect, you can decorate the containers as well by using stones or paint.
3.      Blend them into the landscape
In case you don’t want something that stands out, you can easily incorporate ornamental grasses in the garden and suit them with the rest of your plants. The secret is to create harmony and use decorative plants to give texture to the rest of the landscape.
For a dramatic yet peaceful effect, you can mix different types of ornamental grasses. Pair an upright plant with a lower arching one, but check that both suit the same light and moisture conditions. Do not select an invasive fountain-grass species just to obtain a particular texture.
4.      Decorate your pool or pond
If you have a big garden surrounding a pool or a water source, then landscaping with ornamental grasses can be the secret to creating a dreamland. Planting them around your pond could turn your garden into an enchanted meadow, and make you feel like you’re out in the wilderness.
Keep access to the water clear and allow space for mature foliage. A pond margin, a wet bog and the dry soil beside a swimming pool are different planting sites. Choose for the actual moisture conditions and consider seasonal leaf litter before placing plants near filters or skimmers.
5.      Decorate your house or your balcony
If you don’t have a garden, you can still play with ornamental grasses and make your front deck beautiful. Suitable species can grow in containers, but their lifespan and winter survival depend on the plant and conditions. They do not all require constant replacement.
For a balcony, check the container’s filled weight, wind exposure and permitted placement. Choose a manageable mature size and a locally appropriate species; a pot does not make an invasive plant acceptable or guarantee that a tender grass will survive winter.
6.      Create a knot garden
You can put your artistic side to use in designing such a small but pretty arrangement. A knot garden uses an interlacing geometric pattern, traditionally with low hedging or herbs. Boxwood is a woody shrub, not an ornamental grass. You can borrow the geometric idea for compact grasses, but their seasonal growth and arching leaves will create softer outlines.
Make sure you combine with something of the same type. The appearance must be distinct so that you can obtain the contrast, but the plant should also be mounding. This is necessary to make the knot garden look harmonious. If you choose plants which take more space to grow, the arrangement can look unorderly and chaotic.
7.      Consider season changes when planting the grasses
As the weather turns colder, plants turn golden, creating idyllic landscapes and covering gardens and forests in rusty shades. If you want to paint your backyard in autumn colors, you only have to choose the right ornamental grasses.
By opting for tall grasses which change their leaves as autumn comes, you can easily get a dramatic effect. Many of these plants turn golden or even acquire faint shades of purple as the sun gets colder and other leaves start fading.
To make sure everything looks beautiful, you can plant them on larger surfaces. This way, your garden will become a true autumn wonderland.
8.      Use the same motif across your entire yard
Landscaping with ornamental grasses can make your garden look different by letting you play with plants. However, you should make sure and follow a few rules while decorating, to avoid making it look chaotic.
Instead of spreading plants of all kinds, you can choose one species as representative for your garden. Then, by planting it in various spots, you can turn it into a motif. This way, it will all look more sophisticated, and keep your garden together in terms of look and harmony.
9.      Create ornamental borders
If your garden is full of alleys and stairs, ornamental grasses are the secret to making them look less plain. To make sure you achieve that fairytale look, edge the alleys and stairs with a row of such plants. Apart from looking pretty, they will guarantee a more orderly aspect for your yard.
One of the best choices of grasses is blue fescue, which grows in small and compact grassy bushes. You can choose almost any type of grass that doesn’t grow too tall. Space plants according to mature width rather than crowding nursery pots together. Keep foliage back from steps and walking routes so the border does not hide an edge or narrow the usable path.
10.  Ornamental grasses look good in the background, too
You might find that too many grasses make your garden look crowded, and maybe you are a bigger fan of a simpler look. Even so, you can still achieve a chic look for the backyard by inserting some ornamental grasses, but not as the main star of the show.
These plants look great in the background, too, by creating natural hedges and barriers. You can plant them right next to the real fence, and watch them create a green background for your other plants.
11.  Grasses are the perfect ingredient for garden art
If you enjoy a more mythologically-evoking look, ornamental grasses shouldn’t miss from the picture. Choose anything you want to decorate your yard with, such as sculptures, old pottery, garden statues, or stones.
Arrange them however you like, according to what look you want to obtain. Then, complete the picture with some ornamental grasses spread here and there between the other pieces of decoration.
Use a plant’s mature outline to frame the object rather than hide it. Check the exact species and local invasive guidance before choosing a plant sold as feathergrass.
If you choose such a decorating idea, don’t be afraid to be as creative as you want. Any wacky idea is welcome, as long as you combine everything in a harmonious manner.
12.  Use the plants for a watery appearance
Let’s say you’ve always wanted a water source in your garden, but the land is too dry for something natural. Also, creating an artificial one might be too costly. There’s always a solution for that, and ornamental grasses are perfect for creating a watery appearance.
To achieve the trick, choose tall grasses with a wavy constitution. This way, whenever the wind blows, the plants will look like moving water. If your land is indeed dry, be extremely careful with the plants you choose. There has to be something that can survive in this type of soil so that you can avoid their dying.
13.  Make shelters for birds
Appropriate grasses can contribute cover and seed resources within a wildlife planting. They do not guarantee nesting birds. The University of Maryland’s perennial-care guidance explains the winter habitat value of leaving suitable stems and seed heads standing.
However, if you want to attract birds, you have to do some research first and find what plants are best for them. Most probably, you will have to pick only or mostly native species.
Conclusion
Start with one manageable area and repeat a limited selection of suitable plants. Check mature dimensions, invasive status, light and moisture requirements before planting. Allow for seasonal cutback, division and access so the design remains attractive and practical as it grows.
Nonetheless, by tending to these grasses, you can learn how to be a better gardener and how to take better care of the different needs of various plants.
