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Grasses and Grass-like Plants Many of these grasses combine well with flowering plants in mixed planters, where the contrast they provide is complimentary to the different shapes and leaf structure of other plants in the container.
Acorus gramineus 'Ogon' (sweet flag) Evergreen leaves of bright golden yellow in a low, clump-forming plant make this a nice companion in a mixed planter of annuals and perennials. As with the Carexs, can grow well in overly damp ground. In the landscape, a group of these planted en masse attracts the eye at all seasons of the year.
Acorus gramineus 'Variegatus' Striped white and green evergreen leaves can be used to good effect either in a sunny spot in the garden or in a mixed planter.
Alopecuris pr. 'Aureus' (golden foxtail) This plant is a problem because it can spread rapidly and only looks its best in the spring and early summer. The rest of the year it is disheveled looking. It is very colorful in its season, although if you are looking for a grass that is low maintenance, the clump forming grasses and sedges are better choices than this.
Anemanthele lessoniana (pheasant-tail grass) This is our most popular grass. Why ? Because of its moderate height of two feet, because of its tawny, orangish coloring, and because of the lightness and airiness of its mass of foliage. To get the tawny coloring it needs to grow in full sun and not be overwatered or overfed, in which case the leaves will be a rich green. The seed stems have the same gracefulness as the leaves, and are not stiff and upright as are the seed stems of many grasses. It is evergreen here. Grows in a clump.
Carex buchananii This sedge grows a foot and a half to two feet tall. Its color is a deep, rich brown making it look dead to the uninitiated. Evergreen (or ever-brown ?). Very undemanding. Growing in a clump, and it is very useful for the contrast of color it offers.
Carex elata 'Aurea' (Bowles' golden sedge) Its new growth stands out brightly in a sunny garden, when the sun lights it up. This seems to need more moisture than the other sedges. It is evergreen and grows as a loose clump.
Carex 'Evergold' The naming of this sedge is a little confused - you may see the same or a similar plant offered with a different name. It is quite easy to find, which should not lessen its desirability. It can be planted and then forgotten, and will look reasonably presentable for many years. The older evergreen leaves hang on for a long time, even though they may look tatty. The cure is digging the clumps and dividing them every few years, to throw out the older centers and keeping the younger outer sections.
Carex 'Frosted Curls' Quite low at about six to eight inches, this has very thin, fine leaves that curl strongly and have a silvery color. The leaves are evergreen and we use this plant a lot in our mixed containers and recommend it planted with other low things in the sunny garden.
Carex 'Gold Fountains' Clump forming and growing to a height of eighteen inches to two feet. The growth habit is a wide fountain of golden yellow, evergreen leaves that are especially nice.
Carex 'Ice Dance' Colorful green and white leaves that are spiky and low, at about twelve inches, are attractive and seem to be unchanging throughout the year. That the plant spreads rapidly underground is the only thing that could be a problem, but doesn't seem to us to be a problem to such a degree as with other spreading grasses. In the right location, where a groundcover is needed this could be a good choice.
Carex siderosticha 'Variegata' This is one of the few grasses and grass-like plants on this page that is not evergreen. Its variegated leaves turn brown in fall, and fall off, leaving nothing to show over the winter. Yet it has a unique character, being low growing, with very broad leaves, and spreads underground to form a carpet. And it likes more shade than the others.
Carex testacea A mature plant of this carex grows from twelve to eighteen inches in height. Its thin leaves are usually an orange or amber color, growing as a clump.
Chondropetalum tectorum (cape reed) Being only half hardy over the winter, we use this in container gardening. It is usually no more than two feet tall. If allowed to settle into a large container over several years you could expect it to reach four and a half feet. Studying the leaves closely, the range of coloring is varied, not only green, but also bluish, and parts of the leaves are tan. Interestingly, the leaves grow in segments, and have something of a slight zig-zag pattern to them. A native of South Aftrica, it and related plants have historically been used as roof thatching in Africa.
Cortaderia 'Gold Band' In this climate the pampas grasses are usually evergreen. Other large grasses are most often not evergreen over winter, so these variegated pampas grasses can be a highlight of our winter gardens. 'Gold Band' is lower, the foliage growing to four or five feet, and the seed plumes to just over six feet.
Cortaderia pumila Rich green leaves grow four or five feet and the seed plumes to about five or six feet. As with all pampas grasses the seed plumes come at the end of summer.
Cortaderia 'Silver Comet' Also lower growing than the standard pampas grass, the foliage of this reaches about five feet and the seed plumes to six feet. The cream and green leaves have a very light appearance from a distance.
Cortaderia 'Sun Stripe' With time this will grow quite large, about the same size as the standard pampas grass, so it needs room to look its best. The leaves have a golden stripe down the center, which is different from the other golden pampas grass on this list, 'Gold Band,' that has the gold coloring on the edges of the leaves.
Cortaderia 'Sunningdale Silver' This tall pampas grass are females propagated not by seed, but by dividing older plants. They were obtained years ago. Pampas grass plants are either female or male, with the seed plumes of the female plants being more attractive. Sunningdale Silver's seed plumes are especially nice, arising in September each year. The height of the plumes will be from eight to ten feet. The leaves will reach to six or seven feet.
Deschampsia 'Northern Lights' Very low at four to five inches, 'Northern Light,' is both very cold tolerant and colorful, with its thin leaves of cream and green, and at certain times of the year, pinkish highlights. It grows into little, tidy clumps.
Dichromena colorata Native to Texas, into Mexico, this plant likes lots of water, although it does well under average garden conditions as long as it doesn't get too dry. Sometimes you will see it offered by nurseries as a plant for the shallow-water edges of ponds. The creamy white seed heads that develop in summer are a surprise, and are useful in bouquets.
Elegia capensis (bushy cape reed) From South Africa and not winter hardy here, this is a plant that can be used in a container garden either by itself or with other strongly growing companions. It becomes quite bushy and slowly spreads. Its foliage rather than flowers are its attraction. Pictured on the photo to the right, at each node there is a circle of clumps of long, needle-like branches, which give the plant its horsetail-like appearance.
Festuca 'Golden Toupee' This fescue grows lower than fescues you usually will see, reaching four to five inches. Its golden color is best when plants are young, and growing in strong sunlight.
Festuca idahoensis This fescue grows tall, to twelve inches or so, with thin, grayish leaves. It grows as a slowly expanding clump, and will look good for years without attention. Recommended is a once a year combing of your fingers upwards through the leaves to gently remove the oldest leaves that have turned brown.
Hakonechola macra 'Aureola' Called a dwarf bamboo, this deciduous grass has colorful leaves that lean over a lot. This graceful growth might be best appreciated when it can be viewed from below, as when it is planted along the edge of a retaining wall or on a sloping rock garden. Grows well in this cool climate in full sunlight. In warmer locales, it needs light shade. Many gardeners grow it in containers, in which it spreads slowly by runners throughout the pot, and the pot can be placed on top of a low wall or on a bench or table to view it closeup.
Helictotrichon sempervirens (blue oat grass) The leaves of this grow only to eighteen inches in height however the seed plumes grow much taller to five feet. The leaves are silvery and the seed plumes are tannish brown. It is long lived, and becomes a thicker clump as it grows.
Hierochole odorata (holy grass or vanilla grass) Unremarkable in it looks, it is easily mistaken for lawn grass. Yet this has a hidden surprise that is often not clearly explained. The leaves have a wonderful scent, but they must be cut and dried for your nose to sense it. For many centuries this grass has been used in rituals, as one example, the dried leaves being strewn before church doors in Christian ceremonies in Europe. A different appreciation for it is Eastern Europeans using this as a flavoring for vodka, adding three leaves to a bottle changes it to zubrovka, and supposedly smoother.
Imperata 'Red Baron' On the bad side, this plant can run and spread too rapidly, yet on the good side is the rich red color in some of its leaves. The red coloring is best appreciated where light can strike it from behind as you look towards it. It grows to eighteen inches in height in good garden soil.
Libertia peregrinans (bronze sword) Friends have grown it outdoors over winter, although for us it has not survived in the ground a couple of times and is now grown only in containers. It is evergreen and spreads moderately underground. To get the greatest amount of orange color in the leaves, it needs lots of sunlight. And it reaches twelve to fifteen inches in height.
Ophiopogon nigrescens (black mondo grass) Low stems of purplish flowers appear on the older plants, and the older plants become surrounded by their offspring, coming from underground runners. So it can make a good groundcover. Being evergreen it makes a nice, low, rich border to a pathway.
Phaiophleps n. 'Aunt May' (older name is Sisyrinchium striatum) This is not a perennial because a plant will die after flowering and setting seeds. The seedlings come true to their variegated parents. If you don't weed out the youngsters you will have many new 'Aunt Mays' to replace the one that dies. So think of it as a biennial or a short-lived perennial. The leaves are variegated a grayish shade of green and a yellowish-cream, that grow to fifteen inches tall with seed spikes to about two feet. She is evergreen while she lives.
Pleioblastus auricoma or viridistriata (golden variegated dwarf bamboo) A low, spreading bamboo of an average height of three feet, although in more shade it grows taller. The leaves are striped green and light yellow and drop off in the winter.
Sasaella masamuniana 'Albostriata' (white variegated dwarf bamboo) This grows to the same height as the golden variegated pleioblastus and spreads slowly the same way. Neither are the easiest bamboos to find. Their coloring and moderate heights put them in high demand.
Stipa tenuissima (Texan or Mexican feather grass) With its thin very fine clump of leaves several of these planted together can offer a very soft touch to a garden. The color is a pale green to light tan, and the ends of the leaves seem to disappear into a fine haze. Plants grow as clumps that can become quite wide with age, and do not need much care for years. The only precaution to suggest is dead-heading the seed plumes before they drop their seeds. It might not always be a problem, but that one year we had many baby seedlings of this sprouting in neighboring pots of other plants, many more seedlings than we could want.
Yucca 'Bright Edge' Both this and the next yucca are very cold tolerant, able to happily withstand winters across much of North America. They are evergreen and long lived, and in the right spot could outlive you or me. Parts of the plant that grow large enough to flower, die soon after flowering, to be replaced with young, new shoots growing from the roots of the original plant. The end result is that the young, single stemmed potted plants that you buy, become clusters of many-stemmed plants, connected at the roots, within a few years. The leaves reach eighteen inches to two feet in height. The flower stems grow to about five feet tall and have large white flowers closely held on the upper half of the five-foot spike. 'Bright Edge' has stripes of cream down the edges of the leaves.
Yucca 'Garland Gold' 'Garland Gold' had broad stripes of creamy yellow down the centers of the leaves. And the margins of the leaves develop thin strands of floss that peel away from the edges. Be careful of the ends of the leaves because they have sharp points.
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