Ornamental grasses add movement to your landscape
With their long foliage that moves in the wind and often changes colour with the seasons, perennial grasses add movement, texture and height to your landscape. Ornamental grasses have many uses, they can be planted in flowerbeds in different locations and form interesting hedges or privacy screens that do not require much maintenance.
Contrary to popular belief, the vast majority of perennial grasses sold in nurseries are not invasive. Some varieties will expand, but nothing you can’t control with a good division or a simple shoveling. Ask our in-store specialists about the type of ornamental grass that is best for you.
Perennial grasses should be chosen according to the amount of sunlight they will receive. As with all plants, some varieties will prefer full sun while others will thrive better in shade or part shade. Some ornamental grasses will offer you really interesting feathery flowers in shades of beige, gold and even silver: beautiful! Others will be more interesting because of their thin and graceful foliage that will reflect the sun and show you thousands of colours depending on the time of year… watch your garden evolve over the summer months until the first frost.
Maintenance of ornamental grasses
Perennial grasses are ideal for those who do not want to have a lot of maintenance to do in the garden. Once in place, they require very little care to stay beautiful. By choosing the right variety for your type of soil and sunlight, you’ll have almost nothing left to do.
Cutting back in the fall? Oh no!
Ornamental grasses allow you to keep your garden alive well into the fall and even winter if the snow doesn’t crush them too much. Of course, their colour will change to brown or beige, but the movement will still be there to keep the fun going. It is therefore preferable not to cut back ornamental grasses in the fall. In addition, their foliage protects them from the cold of winter by preventing them from deeply freezing.
In the spring, when the snow has melted, you can cut back your ornamental grasses to 10-15 cm from the ground. There are some exceptions. Some perennnial grasses have evergreen foliage, which means that they remain green all year long. It is best not to prune them too much and simply clean them up. Let them go, they will be all the more beautiful.
Incorporate perennial grasses into your landscape and watch them dance in the wind, you’ll love it!
