Ornamental grasses provide low maintenance beauty to your landscape or garden. They come in many colors, forms, and sizes. Choose between fun and whimsical or tall and graceful. Whatever your desire, ornamental grasses accommodate any variety of landscaping design goals.
Flowering, Colorful Ornamental Grasses
Flowering ornamental grasses are an attractive option for both residential and business landscapes. Fountain grasses have an array of eye-catching flower color choices. From purple and red to pink or white, fountain grasses come in a wide variety.
Want to attract butterflies? Consider the beautiful pink (Muhlenbergia) Muhly grass. Lilyturf, a low maintenance perennial, provides cheerful purple flowers that bloom in autumn.
Sustainable Ornamental Grasses and Ground Cover
Ornamental grasses have a place in sustainable gardens. These grasses provide attractive solutions that enhance sustainability. The most valuable reason to consider them is the lack of upkeep. Where traditional turf, trees, and shrubs need additional attention, these do not.
Most ornamental grasses, once well established, require little water or maintenance. They will grow in poor soil without the need to fertilize. Ornamental grasses can attract beneficial insects and provide erosion control.
Ground cover ornamentals are low growing, spreading plants that prevent weed growth. However, take proper consideration as these can take over your landscape quickly.
Tall Ornamental Grasses
Do you want to make a statement and add some vertical interest to your landscape? Does your yard need some shade and added privacy? Tall grasses can help. Some beautiful variations of tall grasses include:
Zebra grass
With its eye-catching golden ‘stripes’, it makes a bold statement and can measure up to 7 feet high. This grass grows steadily in the summer and lasts through the winter.
Maiden grass
Another tall beauty can be grown to make a stunning privacy hedge. These grasses start with silver-green blades that turn golden-bronze with frost.
Cordgrass
A summertime grass, this species grows excessively in the heat with wet soil. Often you can find it along streams in the summer, growing up to 7 feet.
Fountain Grass
This foliage is identifiable by its large feathery plumes. It is a warm-season grass that often requires full sun and heat to grow.
Little Bluestem
The perfect tall grass when you’re looking for a beautiful pop. It prefers warm seasons. In the summer Little Bluestem starts with a blue-green hue and then becomes red, purple, and orange in the fall. It grows to 3 feet in the sun so it’s a good choice if you don’t want towering hedges.
Blue Fescue
This grass prefers to be in the full sun or partial shade. It only grows to 12 inches so it’s perfect for edging a garden or section.
Feather Reed Grass
A grass that is an ideal choice in the winter. It retains its mound shape all year round and grows up to 6 feet in the cool season.
Northern Sea Oats
Northern Sea Oats are unique for their wonderful stems and seed heads. This grass grows to 3 feet tall in full sun or partial shade and likes the warm seasons.
There are many variables to consider when selecting ornamental grasses. At Sponzilli Landscape Group, we have 40+ years of designing beautiful New Jersey Landscapes. You can rely on our talented team’s expertise to enhance, maintain or design a unique landscape for your home or business.
We would love to help you fulfill your landscaping needs. Contact us for more information and start your landscape dream.
