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Landscaping with Ornamental Grasses

Here are some beautiful landscaping ideas with short ornamental grass and long ornamental grass!

Victoria Day Weekend. Also known commonly as “May Long” weekend; the unofficial start to a beautiful summer.

The roads were packed with people heading out camping or venturing away on weekend holidays. And the nurseries are full of gardeners excited to spend their weekend in the dirt.

We chose the latter this May long. There are so many DIY outdoor projects going on around here that it felt great to get a handle on them. Since we don’t have any major summer holidays planned this year; our goal is to get our yard and deck finished as much as possible so we can actually relax a bit and enjoy our peaceful summer at the lake. Something we haven’t done for several years.

So, as I headed to the nursery to choose the plants that will finish off some new beds in our natural landscape; I was drawn again to the simple relaxed style of lush ornamental grasses. Whether mass planted as a hedge; grouped together with complimentary plants; or used as a large specimen plant in the lawn or garden, grasses are often overlooked as a beautiful landscape plant.

Long and short ornamental grass outside.

To be honest, I’m a little bit obsessed with them. We are using large ornamental grass to create an informal hedge in front of the new fence (which I can’t wait to share with you on Thursday!). And before I went out shopping for the “right” grasses to create an informal hedge; I spent some time doing my research.

Ornamental grasses come in a wide variety of sizes, varieties, and colours. They mix perfectly with shrubs like hydrangeas in a cottage style garden; or blended with sweet smelling lavender or Russian Sage in a dreamy seaside garden. Today I’ve collected some stunning ideas for ways to incorporate tall or short ornamental grasses into your garden design…

{PS – I had difficulty finding the correct source for several of the images that I found on Pinterest. If you know a source I have missed, please kindly let me know. Thanks!)

Ornamental grass on the pathway to a house.

I love this bright and airy mix of Morning Light Grass & Blushing Bride Hydrangea on a sweet pea gravel walkway Via Country Living Mag

A large house with lots of windows and light tall ornamental grass on the pathway.

What a gorgeous home and setting! I love this mix of Feather Reed Grass and Russian Sage Via

A brick path with green and purple grass beside it.

You can use smaller ornamental grass as accents in a rock garden; they provide beautiful contrast to mounded plantings Via

Small lush green ornamental grass with white flower bushes behind the grass.

A mass planting of miscanthus and hydrangea makes a beautiful edging bed Via

A sidewalk ornamental grass display.

Smaller ornamental grass contrast beautifully in this fun exquisite landscaped sidewalk garden bed   Via 

Large pots on an outdoor deck with large grass growing in the pots.

You can even put large ornamental grass in pots as a patio screen Via 

A lot of tall very green ornamental grass together growing beside a lawn.

Or use them massed together in a lawn as a striking feature (Miscanthus Grass variety) Via Garden World Images

A hedge of hydrangea and tall grass.

I love this informal hedge with a mix of tall grasses (miscanthus variety) and Hydrangea (I believe it is Limelight Hydrangea) Via

Tall grass in front of a hedge of trees.

Tall grasses are also a brilliant transformative way to disguise a bare or sparse cedar hedge Via 

Rock work on the path towards a house with ornamental grass with the rock.

Ditch the regular grass altogether, and create a pretty and unique entry garden full of river rock and ornamental grasses  Via Debra Prinzing

Large grass used as a hedge beside a house.

Tall Pampas Grasses are easily massed and used as an informal hedge or screen Via

Purple flowers and grass garden beside a house.

Feather Reed grass works beautifully in this stylish Mediterranean style garden Via Gardenista

Blooming large grass with a wooden bench in front of it.

A mix of grasses create an interesting dynamic border to the lawn and a full bloom Pampas Grass definitely creates a dramatic showing in the yard Via BHGRE

A countryside house with a small grass garden in front of it.

Beautiful ornamental grasses mixed in a garden bed and in bloom Via

Path lights and green ornamental grass beside a walkway.

A cute little pathway lined with small river rock, modern lanterns, and landscape grasses Via

Clumps of green grass together in a garden.

Such a breezy and relaxed look, Mexican feather grass creates a bold backdrop when planted en mass  Via 

I’ll be back this week to share some of the revamped spots that we incorporated ornamental grasses into our garden this past weekend.

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Landscaping with ornamental grasses graphic.

Happy Gardening, friends!

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24 Comments

  1. Yes, please provide the specific variety of grass that is depicted in the cover photo. The tall grasses for sparse cedar landscape. I too would love to recreate this to create a border for neighboring property.

    Thank you in advance.

    1. Hello, this post is an inspiration post so I don’t have the specific information about varieties as these are not all images from my own yard. I suggest you save the image and take it into your local garden center or nursery and see if they can suggest a similar grass species that will work for you.

  2. I would like to know the name of the tall grasses in the photo “in front of the cedar hedge” and I would like to know the name of the circular shrub in front of the Tall grasses
    Thanks!

    1. Hello, this post is an inspiration post so I don’t have the specific information about varieties as these are not all images from my own yard. I suggest you save the image and take it into your local garden center or nursery and see if they can suggest a similar grass species that will work for you.

  3. These are all so beautiful, thank you! I am trying to find grasses that will work well in sand. If you have any suggestions, please share. 🙂

  4. This is a lovely post with so many different looks for the garden. Please let me know what type of grass is in the picture to hide or help sparse cedar bushes.

    1. Hello, this post is an inspiration post so I don’t have the specific information about varieties as these are not all images from my own yard. I suggest you save the image and take it into your local garden center or nursery and see if they can suggest a similar grass species that will work for you.

  5. I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW THE NAME OF THE ORNEMENTAL GRASS WHICH IS ON THE PHOTO ‘Tall grasses are also a brilliant transformative way to disguise a bare or sparse cedar hedge

    1. Hello, this post is an inspiration post so I don’t have the specific information about varieties as these are not all images from my own yard. I suggest you save the image and take it into your local garden center or nursery and see if they can suggest a similar grass species that will work for you.

    1. It’s always best to check at your own garden center for what works locally – they should have some specific varieties to suggest.

  6. I am a big fans or ornamental grasses but the two grasses you featured are invasive and very bad for the environment. I would encourage your readers to look for native or drought tolerant grasses. I would advise NOT to plant the Mexican Feather Grass or the Pampas Grass. Counties have to pay workers to remove them and they will take over a garden they are planted in and make extra no fun work weeding them. I like your photos and the other grasses you featured.

    1. Hi Alison,
      It’s always good to check with your local nurseries to see if a plant is invasive in your area – these grasses are not at all invasive where we live and are common garden plant choices. Local expert advice is always best when it comes to plant choices.

  7. GOOD AFTERNOON
    I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW THE NAME OF THE ORNEMENTAL GRASS WHICH IS ON THE PHOTO ‘Tall grasses are also a brilliant transformative way to disguise a bare or sparse cedar hedge Via’
    THANKYOU VERY MUCH
    KIND REGARDS JUDITH

    P.S. PLEASE SEND ME YOUR ANSWER ON AN EMAIL 🙂

      1. I like this one as well. Can you please share the name of the tall grass filling in the sparse cedar? This is a wonderful post! Thank you for sharing!

      2. Hello, this post is an inspiration post so I don’t have the specific information about varieties as these are not all images from my own yard. I suggest you save the image and take it into your local garden center or nursery and see if they can suggest a similar grass species that will work for you.

      3. Hello Krista, could you send the name of the grass covering the sparse cedar hedge? I guess you want to do this via email only since I don’t see a response in all the comments asking the same question. Thanks!!!

      4. Hello, this post is an inspiration post so I don’t have the specific information about varieties as these are not all images from my own yard. I suggest you save the image and take it into your local garden center or nursery and see if they can suggest a similar grass species that will work for you.

  8. Love ornamental grass, easy to care and have a beautiful color in the fall, also can regrow from mature plants!! I mixed with rusSian sage

  9. Please do you know the name the tall grass in your cover photo for this article. The ones you described for hiding a sparse cedar hedge? I’m trying to recreate this look. Thank you in advance.

  10. Beautiful post! Now I ha d to have some. Lovely. I grew up with pampas grass and it was always so lovely in the summer. Thanks for this post.

  11. Lovely ideas! grass can look so boring in some gardens but you’ve demonstrated here it can be such a fantastic plant for landscaping in an interesting way too.

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