Grasses are Year-Round Garden Heroes!

One of our absolute favorite Fall features in the garden has to be the blooming of the grasses, and you won’t find a better selection of these breezy beauties anywhere but Bountiful Gardens. 

If you ask Joe, his favorite landscape grass is Pennisetum, or Fountain Grass. There are about fifteen named cultivars of Fountain Grass, with many of them available right here at our nursery. 

Fountain Grass can range anywhere from 1-4ft tall, tolerate full sun up to partial shade, and will get more flowers more the sun you give them. You can identify this grass by its slender, long foliage which, as the season progresses, takes on a graceful, arching appearance, which is how it gets the name Fountain Grass. 

As Summer flows into Fall, each plant gets bottlebrush-like plumes at the top that can range in color and bloom time depending on variety. 

Another great grassy choice is Calamagrostis or Reed Grass. This is a large family of grasses with over 250 different species. This is a non-invasive grass that stays in a nice tight clump, so you won’t have to worry about it spreading through your landscape. It can even handle relatively moist soils. 

One great use for Reed Grass is to establish a soft privacy screen that can help define space in the yard. They grow to between 3 and 5 feet tall and stay nice and narrow.  

If you’re looking for one of the most versatile grass-like perennials, check out Liriope, or Lily Turf. We carry Liriope muscari, which is a clumping variety. Both green and variegated Liriopes will form small mounds about 12-24” tall and wide. 

Liriope can stay an evergreen in mild winters, and tolerates full sun all the way to full shade, which is very unique for a flowering grass-like plant.  It’s also highly deer-resistant, can handle moist soils, and you get gorgeous Grape Hyacinth-like purple flower spires in the Summer! 

While we have tons of ornamental grasses, we also carry countless native species for those looking for a more sustainable garden. Including native grasses in your garden is important for a variety of reasons! Their strong roots hold soil together, preventing erosion. Grasses also support beneficial insects through their entire life cycle. Even better, their various seed heads serve as beautiful winter interest in the garden. 

One of our favorite native grasses is Little Bluestem, or Schizachyrium scoparium, which is great for dry, sunny locations. We have varieties like ‘Chameleon’, which gets between 18-24” tall. We also have the traditional ‘Standing Ovation’, which grows to between 2 and 4 feet tall. And of course, we have our straight native species, which can get all the way up to 7 feet tall. 

Another great native choice is Panicum virgatum, or Switchgrass, which can send roots as deep as 6 feet into the soil! This grass does well in both dry and wet soil, making it incredibly versatile. We have a few different varieties, including Niagara Falls, Prairie Sky, Shenandoah and the straight species, growing anywhere from 3 to 10 feet tall depending on which you choose. 

Next up is Big Bluestem, or Andropogon gerardii. This water-loving grass will do well in any moist pocket in your garden. These native grasses max out at around 8 feet tall and come in a few varieties. 

Pink Muhly Grass, or Muhlenbergia capillaris grows between 2-4ft tall and wide and prefers dry to moist sandy, well-draining soils. In early Fall, it’ll send out beautiful, fluffy pink seed heads that get even more pronounced as the season goes on. 

Like we said before, in addition to being beautiful, grasses are very important to the cycle of native wildlife. They provide shelter mammals and insects, feed a wide range of birds with their seeds, and support beneficial insects. Some birds, like the Grasshopper Sparrow, actually spend their whole lives in grasses! 

Nothing really brings that sense of peace to the garden like a host of flowing grasses dancing in the breeze, and now that you’re a grass guru, you’re ready to come down to Bountiful Gardens and find the perfect ones for your landscape!