Designing w/Ornamental Grass...

19 years ago

What are some OUTSTANDING combinations with ornamental grass in your experinece??? Need some ideas to get me started and thanks in advance.

Comments (4)

dawgie
19 years ago
Look for this book -- Grasses: Versatile Partners for Uncommon Garden Design" by Nancy J. Ondra, Saxon Holt (Photographer). It sells for about $16 through Amazon.

The book has lots of incredible photos of ornamental grasses in gardens mixed with other plants. It's also a good reference on grasses. Some plant combinations that stand out include Russian Sage w/ various Miscanthus varieties. Also, Golden Hakone Grass with hostas and other shade perennials. In my garden, I have combined Miscanthus (Adagio) with Russian Sage and Black-Eyed Susans to good effect. Blue Fescues seem to go well with various sedums. I combined Golden Hakone in a shade bed with impatiens, hostas, dwarf iris and a Japanese red maple (Garnet).
deep___roots
19 years ago
verbena bonariensis
any coreopsis, esp. "moonbeam"
small conifers or prostrate junipers
sometimes roses go with variegated grasses (esp. white & green)
taiba, the dwarf mounding shrub (i think it's a pittisporum)
really, there is no end to the possibilities
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I am planning to replace some extremely overgrown shrubs at the front of our house. The door is in the center of the house and there is a window on either side. There is about a 10 foot area on both sides of the door that I have to work with. This is on the east side so will get a lot of morning sun. What I am considering right now are vines on trellises on both sides of the door (have small porch). In front of the windows I am thinking about some sort of tall grasses and possibly butterfly bushes. I thought a clumping grass that grows fairly quickly would work nicely in this area. In front I will probably have some yuccas and flowers of some sort. I realize the plants will take some time to grow, but I can deal with this. I've never used ornamental grasses before but really like the way they look and there are so many I would like suggestions on which would work best. I want something that is a tad different from what all the neighbors have too.
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PollyNY
19 years ago
My favorite is Miscanthus sinensis 'Gracillimus' with Eupatorium 'Gateway'. I saw a show on HGTV that had two gentlemen gardeners from Michigan, and they had a blue spruce tree, quite large, that had a skirt of Pennisetum alopecuroides that was absolutely beautiful. I remember the show was hosted by Erica Glaser (?sp), and they had a maze of grasses that included numerous Miscanthus, which looked so neat together. Anyone recall that show?
BruMeta
19 years ago
Well, all the suggestions here are good. You really cannot err, especially if site (cultural) requirements of grass and perennial are similar. Stare at the grass, close your eyes, andÂquickÂwhat color do you see? Texture? Relative height?

a. Pale, delicate, short? Coreopsis 'Moonbeam.'
b. School-bus yellow, coarse, taller? Black-eyed Susans. Get the picture?

My favorite book, for what it's worth, is Piet OudolfÂs Designing with Plants, an inspirational book that focuses on light, color, texture, shape of (less common) perennials that happen to combine well with grasses.

Here is a link that might be useful: Designing with Plants

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Designing w/Ornamental Grass...

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dawgie

deep___roots

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