The Best Ornamental Grasses To Add To Your Garden

The Best Ornamental Grasses To Add To Your Garden

FIVE GRACEFUL GRASSES TO BRING YOUR GARDEN TO LIFE

Adding ornamental grasses to your garden design brings a sense of graceful fluidity, as the long, slender blades sway like ocean waves with the wind. Their elegant texture adds depth and interest to your landscape, offering a spectacle of vibrant colours during the summer months, followed by a dazzling display of warm autumn hues as the seasons transition. Even in the winter, the delicate and intricate structure of these grasses continues to embellish your garden with its captivating beauty.

Once established, ornamental grasses require minimal maintenance, making them a great choice for busy gardeners. Whether serving as a backdrop, providing hedging, controlling erosion on a slope, or adding a stunning focal point in a planter or water feature, ornamental grasses bring unmatched value to any landscape.

They are also drought-tolerant and naturally resistant to diseases, reducing the need for regular monitoring and care. When combined with bright perennials, bulbs, and other plants, ornamental grasses create delightful meadows that blend seamlessly with the surrounding landscape. Not only do they offer a natural privacy option, but their gentle movement in the wind adds a soothing and captivating element to your outdoor space.

Here are my top five picks for ornamental grasses:

PURPLE FOUNTAIN GRASS

Pennisetum setaceum ‘Rubrum’

This attractive grass is an excellent choice for adding a soft and graceful touch to your landscape. It offers months of colour throughout the year, thanks to its deep purple foliage and delicate dusky mauve flower plumes on elegantly arched stems. You can grow this low-maintenance grass as hedging to create a beautiful boundary, mass it along a slope for a natural look, feature it in a planter for a striking display, or combine it with other plants and grasses.

PINK MUHLY GRASS

Muhlenbergia capillaris

In the summer months, pink muhly grass steals the show with its stunning display. As summer turns to autumn, delicate pink seed heads emerge, resembling a hue of pink, fluffy-like clouds. When the sunlight hits them just right, they create a mesmerising sight with their vivid colour and soft, airy texture. Whether planted on slopes, in meadows or garden beds, the visual impact is dramatic. Even as the seasons change and winter sets in, the faded pink transform into a beautiful tan hue, providing enduring interest in the garden.

STIPA

Needle Grass

With its feathery, cloud-like plumes, you can count on this beautiful grass to elegantly sway in the gentlest breeze. Adding Stipa to the landscape guarantees movement, refinement, and even calm. For a visually striking contrast, pair it with bold, structural plants like the Cape aloe. This versatile grass can be planted in containers, massed in a bed, or along a slope, and its ability to thrive in drought conditions makes it an excellent choice when combined with indigenous plants.

ARISTIDA JUNCIFORMIS

Ngongoni three-awn

Aristida junciformis is an enchanting tufted grass, adorned with striking mauve plumes that flourish during the summer months. This ornamental grass is a perfect choice for creating a soft and delicate ambiance, while they gracefully sway in the gentle breeze. With its fine leaves and feathery seed heads in varying shades of green and light brown, this grass thrives in almost any type of soil, showcasing remarkable drought tolerance and maintaining its coverage throughout the year.

CAREX COMANS

Frosted Curls

Carex comans ‘Frosted Curls’ is an exquisite ornamental grass that features fine, cascading foliage, providing a graceful and elegant addition to any landscape. The delicate, elongated leaves with their gentle curl, bring a soft and inviting aspect to the surroundings. The rounded clusters and the silver-tinged light colour of the foliage contribute to the creation of a visually captivating interplay of textures and contrasts in the garden.

This predominantly evergreen plant is not only visually appealing, but also draught tolerant and well-equipped to thrive in our South African climate.