Be ready to discover your newest must-haves: ornamental grasses are the music your whole garden can sing to. They sway, they colour the landscape, they provide the most understated structure to garden designs and connect borders in the most elegant fashion.
It's time to elevate the appeal of your garden decor! Spring, summer, fall and even winter; dramatic, romantic and radiant.
Ornamental grasses bring texture, shape and movement to any garden setting. Spectacular.
If your perennial and annual flowers and shrubs own the summer, ornamental grasses come into their own in the fall. Late season understated colours paint the landscape into a masterpiece. There are so many to choose from! We'll suggest a few, but really, start your research now.
Perennial or annual
Most ornamental grasses are perennials.
- Durable
- Easy to care for
- Definitely animal-friendly! They attract birds and butterflies in the summer and provide food and shelter in the winter.
- For layering your garden design long-term, or if you want your grasses to expand and spread out, perennials are your best option.
- Also, and most importantly, perennials provide incredible fall interest.
Annuals are just that; they live for one season. Either because of their natural growth habit or because they are basically perennials in warm climates but unable to survive a Canadian winter.
- Bulk up quickly
- They literally burst on the summer scene in combination planters and summer borders.
Cool-season grasses do most of their growing in the spring before the summer heats up and again in the fall. They maintain their colour in the summer, they just don't grow much.
Warm-season grasses only start growing mid-spring, early summer. They grow and flower when the weather is hot
Growth habit
Grasses have growth habits that are either clumping or spreading.
Spreading grasses expand by aboveground or underground stems. Management is key, because they can quickly overtake other plants in the garden.
Clumping or bunch grasses grow in a clump that gradually increases in diameter. They are easier to control and your best option.
