Here's another question for another Sunday! What are the best ornamental grasses in your garden? Ornamental grasses are great plants to use whether as a background or as a feature plant. There are all kinds of ornamental grasses to choose from; some are native and some exotic. In our garden we only have two varieties but I hope to add more eventually. The two we have are Miscanthus sinensis 'Zebrinus' (a variegated miscanthus) and Karl Foerster 'Feather Reed Grass' (Calamagrostis x acutiflora).
The striped pattern on the miscanthus makes it very interesting in the garden as a foliage plant. Miscanthus sinensis actually comes from China. Generally anything that has sinensis in its botanical name comes from China. I have two clumps of it in our Bird Bath Garden (Bird Bath Garden Layout).
The Karl Foerster Feather Reed Grass has been a little on the disappointing side. It is a great grass to add into any garden but I divided it shortly after purchasing it last fall and it is still recovering. It will do fine eventually but for now the three clumps are a bit on the small side. Time will heal all wounds and next year they should be pumped up and ready to grow! I have it in our rain garden mixed together with rudbeckia and zinnias. Feather reed grass would look great with coneflowers and other wildflowers, which coincidentally are in the rain garden also!
There's a list of grasses I would love to have growing in my garden but at the top of my list is Muhly grass (Muhlenbergia capillaris). I actually like the pink variety of it better than the white mainly for the color interest, but both would add some value to a garden. Muhly grass is a native grass found from Texas on northward to Massachussets that grows to about 3 feet tall.
What ornamental grasses to you have in your garden? And/or what ornamental grasses do you want to add to your garden?Labels: garden thoughts, grass
