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Grasses in your landscape

Whether you use them as screens, accents, or focal points, ornamental grasses are an easy way to add beautiful texture and year-round color to your landscape. Most of them are very drought and heat tolerant and retain their appearance regardless of the weather. In addition, they are often not bothered by pests and diseases, and deer leave them alone. Here's how to make the most of these hardy, versatile perennials in your yard.

1. Add privacy

Tall grasses in a large group can be a great solution to block an unsightly view or to screen a part of your yard from the view of passers-by or neighbors. For best effect, choose tall varieties such as big bluestem, maiden grass (shown here) and moor grass, all of which can reach 6 feet tall when in bloom.

2. Make colorful containers

With their various shapes, colors and sizes, many miniature grasses are perfect for container gardens. Here, for example, fiber optic grass in simple terra-cotta containers adorns a bare stone wall. The effect is enhanced by the contrasting texture provided by the thick, fleshy leaves of gray-blue echeveria.

3. Add texture to beds and borders

Ornamental grasses add unique texture to the landscape. For example, soft, towering grasses such as fountaingrass, which have a bold texture, balance the vegetation. More upright grasses, such as switchgrass, make a perfect textural contrast to more mounding plants. Maximize the effect by planting a variety of grasses in the same landscape. Here, fountaingrass and some species of maiden grass punctuate a garden filled with black-eyed Susan, lavender, and hydrangea.

4. Soften hardscaping

Whether it's walls, walkways or other hardscapes, ornamental grasses can soften their appearance and prevent them from feeling cold and uninviting. Here, for example, a mass of virgin grass softens the concrete edge of the swimming pool.

5. Dress up decks and patios

Don't limit ornamental grasses in your landscape to beds and borders. Grow them in containers to add drama to decks and patios. Here, a purple fountain adds elegant texture to a rooftop garden. Annuals or tender grasses like purple spring are great choices for growing in containers because you'll need to repot them in the spring anyway, so you don't have to worry about trying to drown them in a pot.

6. A knot garden

Herbs planted as low hedges and elegant evergreens typically comprise geometric knot gardens. But weaving in short grasses can help both grass and hedge plants stand tall. Here, a golden sedge (not technically a grass, but similar in appearance) contrasts with dark green boxwood. Tight, mounding grasses work best in knot gardens. Avoid very loose and open grass; They can make the knot garden feel messy.

7. Add a garden accent

Grasses of all shapes and sizes make great accent plants for beds and borders. Here, a clump of fountaingrass subtly complements a deck of bold black-eyed Susans, canna, coleus and petunias. Use the same grass in different areas of your yard to tie your garden together and give your landscape a cohesive look.

8. Create the edging

Line your beds and borders with a neat line of neat grasses. Smaller selections like the blue fescue shown here are great for this.

 If you plant the grasses a little closer together than normal when the grasses are growing together in a single row, the edges will look better with the grasses.

9. Build interest at the end of the season

Grasses really shine at the end of the season when most annuals and perennials have worn off. Many grasses offer two-fold interest: they have beautiful seed heads and stunning fall color. Some of the best grasses for fall leaf color are switchgrass, big bluestem and little bluestem. To ensure your grasses come back after winter, choose hardy varieties in your area.