From the sharply architectural to the wildly pretty, there’s a grass for every garden. Once the domain of roadside plantings, ornamental grasses have become integral to almost every type of garden, from modern, hard-landscaped courtyards to the gorgeous wild meadows of the New Perennials movement.
Undemanding plants, their architectural forms are splendid alone or as a great backdrop for more floriferous plants (though many grasses have attractive or interesting flowers of their own). Grasses bring a lightness and movement to a garden all year round and provide a habitat and food for myriad creatures. With a huge range of sizes, shapes, colours, textures and horticultural requirements, there really are grasses for just about every situation and taste.
The top 10 grasses to brighten your garden
1. Wind Tussock (Anemanthele Lessoniana)
Imagine great clouds of pink gossamer shimmering in the low, late afternoon or fresh early morning sunlight. That’s what one of our own very special grasses offers every summer. Anemanthele lessoniana aka hunangāmoho or wind tussock is beautiful the rest of the year too, with its fine, gracefully arching leaves waving in the slightest breeze. These delicate wands start out green before maturing into warm coppers and bronzes.
Although they grow quite happily in both shade and sun, the less sun the greener the leaves tend to remain. A showstopper anywhere, singly or in packs, these look their absolute best somewhere the low sun can shine through them, highlighting their glorious colours, shapes and textures. Note though, these are not small plants, growing up to one metre high, with the flower heads another 0.5 metre.
The next best thing about this fab native is its hardiness. Despite being found naturally over most of the east coasts of both motu and, with an at-risk status in the wild, it thrives in all manner of conditions in domestic gardens – exposed, sheltered, coastal, cold, warm, damp soil, and dry once established.
Bonus: The flower heads are excellent for cut flowers and to put in floral arrangements.
2. Lime Tuff (Lomandra Longifolia)
If you dread looking out on a dreary winter’s day and seeing only bare branches, browned grasses and decaying seedheads, then get some Lomandra longifolia ‘Lime Tuff’ pronto. Keeping its fresh bright-green appearance all year round is one of the many charms of this tough little Aussie native. It’s a compact, rather bristly mound of green, which unsurprisingly doesn’t mind the heat, frost or coastal winds.
Drought-tolerant once established, it’s not super keen on constant damp. Give it a free-draining soil, full sun or part-shade and it will quickly reach its full size of 0.5 metres by 0.5 metres. Its creamy to pale yellow flowers in spring are fragrant but unshowy.
We love it mass-planted, either in a row along a path or narrow bed. Or be bold and use it as a lawn substitute where it has all that institution’s swathes of glory but few of its maintenance requirements.
Interesting fact: Lomandra longifolia is also known as mat grass. It is traditionally used for weaving mats, baskets and eel traps by Indigenous Australians.
3. Japanese Silver Grass (Miscanthus Sinensis ‘Gracillimus)
Its popular name says it all. Japanese silver grass (Miscanthus sinensis ‘Gracillimus’) sends up stunning tassel-like flowers, not unlike a more erect and delicate version of those on our native toetoe. These flowers mature to a soft silver colour and rise triumphantly 40cm or more above the fine foliage, which itself takes on a bronze tone in autumn.
Although smaller than toetoe, this clumping perennial grass needs to be planted with consideration. Its mature height will top 1.8 metres. That said, it is a brilliant accent plant in larger gardens, or focal point in smaller ones. Often planted as a hedge, it does die back in winter. Most gardeners cut it back just as spring growth begins.
Consider also: Miscanthus sinensis ‘Morning Light’ which is smaller, with narrower leaves edged in white, and softly pink blooms.
4. Northern Sea Oats (Chasmanthium Latifolium)
It’s not too late to sow your wild oats, especially if they are Chasmanthium latifolium. It’s a particularly stunning oat that also goes by several names, including inland sea oats and river oats. Grown as a crop and used much as wheat by Mexico’s Cocopa American Indian tribe, it is gaining worldwide popularity as an ornamental plant. Not surprising, given its intriguing flat, triangular, pale-green seed heads.
So hefty are these and so fine the stems on which they dangle that they droop in great glorious clusters upon the bright-green leaves. Seemingly paying little attention to where it grows, this nonetheless appears to thrive best in dappled shade.
5. Feather Reed Grass (Calamagrostis x Acutiflora ‘Karl Foerster’)
Little wonder Calamagrostis x acutiflora ‘Karl Foerster’ aka feather reed grass is the darling of Dutch garden design superstar Piet Oudolf.
Best planted in groups or swathes, its clouds of erect mauve plumes emerge in spring and are held high above the foliage as they gradually age to tan and then a soft gold, evocative of endless summers in the country. The clumps provide a divine backdrop to colourful perennials; or along an orchard or vegetable garden path to plunder that rustic vibe.
Drought-tolerant, it is unfussy as to soil and will reach 1.2 metres or so high by 60-90cm. Cut back to just above ground level in late winter, just as the new growth emerges.
6. Quaking Grass (Briza Maxima)
Resembling tiny lanterns or silvery green pupae, the dancing seedheads of quaking grass are so sweet, endearing and endlessly fascinating to all, from early childhood on. Add to this their fine leaves, and you will see why the elegant and beautiful Briza media and its bigger sibling Briza maxima (greater quaking grass) deserve a place to nestle in so many, if not every, style of garden, from cottage to formal.
Readily available as both plants and seeds and easily divided in autumn or early spring, they are happy in sun or part shade, drought tolerant once established, and don’t at all mind wind or salt spray.
The differences: There is little difference in height, both reaching about 75 to 85cm tall, but B. media is a perennial with smaller flowers than the annual B. maxima. B. media’s seedheads have a purple tinge, while those of B. maxima are green. Both flowers turn straw coloured with time.
7. Mutton Bird Sedge or Titi (Carex Trifida)
Its common name may be attributed to its natural propensity to share its habitat with muttonbirds. However, Carex trifida, the muttonbird sedge (aka titi), also grows where too few will, that is in damp, sunless spots.
Not an unattractive plant by any means, its evergreen leaves have a tinge of blue and arch gently; against which its large, brown, velvet-like flower spikes exude a beauty rugged enough to give an edge to both the plant and floral arrangements.
As its Latin name suggests, it is a fast-growing plant. However, in captivity, this tends to be outwards and it seldom reaches the oft-touted height of 90cm. Older leaves are covered by new growth so maintenance is minimal. Easily divided in spring, it is useful, too, for quickly covering awkward areas – in both shade or sun.
8. Angel’s Fishing Rod (Dierama Pulcherrimum)
Strictly speaking, Dierama pulcherrimum is not a grass but its tall, evergreen, fine strappy leaves seem to warrant it a place here. That and its elegant wands of bell-shaped flowers and seedheads, which like the best of ornamental grasses, last right through winter’s greyest hours.
Its common name, angel’s fishing rods, sums up so perfectly the exquisite curve of the fine flower stems. The flowers themselves come in a range of shades from a white to soft pink through to a particularly fetching burgundy – a colour superbly set off by the bleached golds of end of summer grasses. A sun lover, it likes well-drained soil yet will tolerate drought.
9. Japanese Blood Grass (Imperata Cylindrical)
If it’s drama you’re wanting, then don’t turn your back on the deciduous Japanese blood grass, which also goes by the only slightly less impressive name of Imperata cylindrica ‘Red Baron’.
Ferocious in colour but of relatively short stature in the popular ornamental grass scene, it grows to only 50cm and clumps up slowly. This makes it perfect for an uncompromising statement in the front of the border – or for imparting a frisson of danger in the undergrowth.
Its slender upright leaves emerge green, then from the tips down redden with age. Stoically indifferent to sun or light shade, this garden hero demands only moist, well-drained soil.
10. Oioi (Apodasmia Similis)
Beloved by coastal creatures and nature lovers up and down the country, our native oioi (Apodasmia similis) also makes a stunning garden plant. Whether the garden is wickedly wild or severely hard-landscaped, the uncompromisingly architectural form of the rush somehow always fits in, and often sublimely.
Despite being naturally a plant of the coastal salt marshes and estuaries, it takes to domestic life with ease, be they watery, damp, or dry once established, of course. It even relishes life in containers.
We love its erect and uncommonly delicate grey-green stems, jointed and banded in brown, and the dense clumps it forms. It does have one requirement however, and that’s sun. Give it freedom and it will easily reach to its full one metre height and 1.5 metre width.
Related Articles:
- How to give your plants just the right amount of water
- 7 Māori gardening practices to adopt in your garden
- 10 Gardening gifts for loved ones with a green thumb
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