24 Ornamental Grasses for Adding Texture to Your Garden

Wispy ornamental grasses are versatile plants that can provide four seasons of interest in any landscape.

Wispy ornamental grasses are among the most versatile plants in a landscape. They run the gamut from towering over your head to just a few inches tall. Some types need lots of sun while other grasses don't mind a little shade. There are even ornamental grasses that offer four seasons of interest. These top picks are some of the best grasses for landscaping your yard. You'll especially love how they look and sound when rustling gently in a breeze.

A short grass perfect for edging or as a groundcover, blue fescue (Festuca glauca) offers powder-blue foliage on tidy, dwarf mounds. Light green flowers with a purple tinge appear in panicles above the foliage in late spring to early summer. One of the most reliable performers is 'Elijah Blue'.

Growing Conditions: Full sun or part shade and well-drained soil

Size: To 1 foot tall

Zones: 4-8

Give your borders, foundations, and open areas added texture, color and contrast with fountain grass (Pennisetum alopecuroides). This beautiful, mounding plant has a graceful shape, plus soft, feathery plumes that dance in the breeze. If you're looking for excellent fall color, look for 'Cassian's Choice', a dwarf variety that provides dusky brown flowers and golden fall foliage with red tints.

Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil

Size: To 5 feet tall

Zones: 5-9

It's hard not to marvel at the lavender-blue color on the stem bases of little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium). This tough-as-nails prairie native was one of the dominant grasses of the vast tallgrass prairie region which once covered many parts of central North America. The foliage turns shades of bronze-orange in the fall. Look forward to seeing purplish-bronze flowers rise above the foliage in August followed by clusters of silvery-white seed heads hanging on into winter.

Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil

Size: To 4 feet tall

Zones: 3-9

Another North American prairie native, switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) offers airy plumes in late summer and fall. Use it as a privacy screen at the edge of a pool or as an accent in large decorative containers. Many varieties (such as 'Dallas Blues') offer blue-gray foliage during the season and turn brilliant shades of gold or red in autumn.

Growing Conditions: Full sun or part shade and well-drained soil

Size: To 6 feet tall

Zones: 4-9

Add an excellent vertical accent to your borders with reed grass. These grasses form large clumps of narrow, flattened green leaves from which rise upright flowering stalks bearing narrow flower plums. Look for 'Karl Foerster' feather reed grass (Calamagrostis x acutiflora)—it's known for its tall, bright green leaves and buff-colored plumes that remain upright through most of the winter.

Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil

Size: To 6 feet tall

Zones: 5-9

It's tough to beat blue oat grass (Helictotrichon sempervirens) for a low-maintenance plant with steel-blue color. It also has a tidy mounded habit and won't spread and take over your garden. Spikelets of bluish-brown flowers appear above the foliage in summer and mature to a golden wheat color by fall.

Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil

Size: To 3 feet tall

Zones: 4-8

Peter Krumhardt

Here's the shade-tolerant grass that you've been looking for. The low-growing species, also known as Japanese forest grass (Hakonechloa macra) has a nearly-perfect mounding habit. Variegated selections such as 'Aureola' or 'All Gold' have brightly colored foliage that light up shady corners.

Growing Conditions: Part shade and well-drained soil

Size: To 1 foot tall

Zones: 5-9

An incredibly tough annual grass, purple millet (Pennisetum glaucum) offers fantastic burgundy foliage and rich purple flower heads that look like fuzzy cattails. The plants look striking in a landscape and attract birds. Look for 'Purple Majesty', a compact selection with purple stems, leaves, and flower heads.

Growing Conditions: Full sun or part shade and well-drained soil

Size: To 5 feet tall

Zones: 2-11

Grow prairie cordgrass (Spartina pectinata) along the side of a pond or stream for habitat restoration and conservation. The underutilized perennial plant is a spreading grass that thrives in moist or wet soils. Its sharp edges will make you want to wear gloves when working with it.

Growing Conditions: Full sun and moist soil

Size: To 7 feet tall

Zones: 4-9

Discover the unusual tender perennial fiber optic grass (Isolepis cernua) that's often grown as an annual. It has a fine texture and low, mounding habit that is perfect for container gardens. You'll love Its moplike tuft of fine green stems that are extremely dense and have a spilling form. Since it stays compact, it's also a good choice for gardening in small spaces.

Growing Conditions: Full sun or part shade and moist soil

Size: To 6 inches tall

Zones: 10-11 (usually grown as an annual in colder Zones)

One of the most common ornamental grasses, maiden grass (Miscanthus sinensis) is big, beautiful, and easy to grow. Also known as Chinese silver grass, this grass offers narrow, arching foliage and silvery plumes. To add more color to your landscape, look for variegated selections such as 'Dixieland'.

Growing Conditions: Full sun and moist, well-drained soil

Size: To 8 feet tall

Zones: 4-9

Maiden grass is considered an invasive species across much of the eastern United States. It is also increases fire risks in invaded areas. Check your state's invasive plant lists before planting this grass. Even cultivars touted as sterile have been found to produce viable seeds in trials.

Add eye-catching color to your yard with purple fountain grass (Pennisetum setaceum 'Purpureum'). It's a favorite of gardeners everywhere because of its burgundy-red foliage all season long. Its fluffy, bottlebrush-like flower spikes arch upward and outward above the foliage in summer. This tender perennial is often used in container gardens.

Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil

Size: To 5 feet tall

Zones: 9-10 (grown as an annual in cooler climates)

If tall perennials interest you, consider planting ravenna grass (Saccharum ravennae), one of the largest and most striking of the cold-hardy ornamental grasses. This massive, fast-growing plant sends up purplish-bronze plumes that turn to silver-gray in the fall. Its gray-green leaf blades develop orange tones in autumn.

Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil

Size: To 12 feet tall

Zones: 5-9

Ravenna grass is considered invasive in a few western states and has been found spreading aggressively across many areas of the country, so make sure to check your state's invasive plant list before planting.

Shade tolerant Northern sea oats (Chasmanthium latifolium) ofers interesting seed heads, which dangle off the stems and look like oat-like spikelets. The softest of breezes will flutter the seed heads that emerge green and turn a vibrant gold in autumn. Grow it as an accent in your yard and use its spikelets for fresh or dried arrangements.

Growing Conditions: Full sun or part shade and well-drained soil

Size: To 5 feet tall

Zones: 3-8

This grass is a fast spreader, so plant in a container or other spot that will keep it in bounds.

The versatility of purple moor grass (Molinia caerulea) is appealing for many gardeners. Whether you choose to plant it as an accent, in a border, or around ponds, its see-through quality is a positive attribute. In autumn, its mounding green foliage turns golden yellow and its green and white flowers fade to beige and brown. This grass is a good choice for partially shaded gardens with cool summer climates.

Growing Conditions: Full sun or part shade and moist soil

Size: To 3 feet tall

Zones: 5-8

Depending on the climate, tufted hair grass (Deschampsia cespitosa) is an evergreen grass with airy, hairlike-textured plumes in shades of golden, silver, purple, and green. The plant has an attractive mounding habit as well. This cool-season grower prefers moist habitats, like shores, meadows, and damp woodlands.

Growing Conditions: Full sun to part shade and moist, well-drained soil

Size: To 3 feet tall

Zones: 4-9

'Pumila' is a dwarf pampas grass (Cortaderia selloana) that develops showy white flower plumes in the late summer and fall. Use it in the back of the border where you can enjoy the huge flower heads all winter long. Like standard pampas grass, this dwarf variety can become invasive, so plant it where its roots can't spread. Be careful when handling this drought-tolerant plant because its leaf blades are extremely sharp.

Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil

Size: to 6 feet tall

Zones: 6-10

Pampas grass is known to invade sandy, moist ditch banks across several western states. It has the ability to form dense stands that chokes out native species and can quickly become a fire hazard.

Also called monkey grass or lilyturf (Liriope spicata), liriope isn't actually a true grass but a member of the lily family. However, its pretty mounding, grasslike foliage has a similar effect in a garden. As an excellent groundcover, liriope thrives in sun or shade and helps control erosion on steep slopes. The plant sends up spikes of lavender, purple, or white flowers in late summer, followed by bluish-black, berrylike fruits.

Growing Conditions: Full sun to part shade and well-drained soil

Size: To 17 inches tall

Zones: 4-10

Liriope spicata is considered invasive in some areas of the southeastern United States.

Native to the American prairie, big bluestem (Andropogon gerardii) is a tall, handsome grass that adapts easily to any landscape. In the spring, the foliage of big bluestem starts out blue-green, gradually turning green with hints of red and finally changing to reddish-bronze in the fall. The plants grow well in moist or dry soils. This grass can be slow to take hold but will eventually form large, upright clumps that are good for erosion control.

Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil

Size: Up to 6 feet tall

Zones: 4-9

Even the slightest breeze will cause the delicate flower stalks and thin leaves of Mexican feather grass (Nassella tenuissima) to dance delightfully on the wind. This graceful grass thrives in poor soil and tolerates dry conditions. It looks terrific planted in containers or scattered on a meadow or slope. Mexican feather grass is a good choice for erosion control.

Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil

Size: To 3 feet tall

Zones: 6-10

Mexican feather grass is considered invasive in parts of California.

Dean Schoeppner

Count on Indian grass (Sorghastrum nutans) to be an excellent vertical accent for your borders or an effective solution for erosion control on slopes. This grass once dominated the tallgrass prairie which covered large parts of the Midwest. Its blue-green foliage turns orange-yellow in fall and retains its hints of color into the winter. The seeds in its light brown flower panicles are especially attractive to birds.

Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil

Size: To 5 feet tall

Zones: 4-9

Rob Cardillo

Pink muhly grass (Muhlenbergia capillaris), also known as pink hair grass, makes a fine-textured addition to perennial borders or cottage gardens. This ornamental grass has dark green clumping foliage. It blooms in the fall with masses of airy pink to pinkish-red flower panicles.

Growing Conditions: Full sun to part shade and well-drained soil

Size: To 3 feet tall

Zones: 5-11

Provide year-round food and shelter for birds with Canada wild rye (Elymus canadensis). Birds love to eat the seeds and rely on the foliage to make nests. This fast-growing, short-lived perennial grass has beautiful, curving seed heads that look like cultivated rye spikes. When there's a breeze, these seedy spikes bob and sway, living up to this plant's other common name—nodding wild rye.

Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil

Size: To 5 feet tall

Zones: 3-8

Teresa Otto / Getty Images

Add texture to your woodland garden with bottlebrush grass (Elymus hystrix). This native grass is known for its bristly flower heads that resemble bottle brushes. Opening green, then maturing to brown in late summer, the flower heads remain attractive into autumn. This is one of the few ornamental grasses that has adapted to dry shade conditions.

Growing Conditions: Full sun to part shade and well-drained soil

Size: To 3 feet tall

Zones: 5-9

Many ornamental grasses commonly used for landscaping have a tendency to escape gardens and outcompete native species in natural areas. It's a good idea to check if a type of ornamental grass is considered invasive in your area before planting it. Even native grasses can spread aggressively and become weedy in the right conditions so it's worth doing a little homework on any grass you want to plant.

Ornamental grasses should be planted in the spring or early fall. Planting in the spring will give your grasses ample time to establish a strong root system before winter weather kicks in. In warmer regions—where winters are less severe—you can wait later into the fall to plant but just be sure to plant at least six to eight weeks before the first frost arrives for the best results.

With most ornamental grasses, it's best to wait until late winter or early spring to cut them back. The benefit of waiting until spring is twofold: You can enjoy the visual interest the grasses add to your winter garden while also providing food and shelter for birds. Come spring, before the new shoots begin to show, use a sturdy pair of shears or a hedge trimmer to cut off the dead foliage approximately 3 to 5 inches from the ground.

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