Best ornamental grass for an elegant and stylish garden

Have you thought about ornamental grass for your space? Whether you're looking for a statement plant to add some airy elegance to your garden or a spiky, structural number to add a little drama to your borders, ornamental grasses tick all the boxes. There is also an untapped air of whimsicality to this outdoor plant, which we are happy to explore. If you want to keep your garden bang up-to-date on style and design, they're worth introducing to your outdoor space.

If you're keen on these outdoor ornamental grass plants, we recommend planting them in autumn or making them an addition to your springtime garden. Ornamental grasses are grown primarily for their aesthetic appeal in gardens, landscapes, and ornamental plantings. These grasses are prized for their graceful, flowing foliage, and in many cases, their striking seed heads that add texture, movement, and visual interest to outdoor spaces. They are a great plant for birds, providing habitat and food. They feed on the seeds of grasses and nest in the dense growth below.

To tidy up your grass after winter, comb through it with a gloved hand or fork in early spring to remove dead leaves. If you need to keep the soil well-drained but moist in summer, dig in compost or use a soil improver or conditioner. Remember: feed ornamental grass with a controlled-release fertiliser to encourage growth and add a generous layer of compost or mulch around the plant in autumn. We recommend adding a water-retention gel or a rich compost.

Best ornamental grass at a glance

• Pink and silver flowers: Foxtail Barley - View Offer on Amazon UK
• Silky, cream-white flowers: Pampas Grass - View Offer at Gardening Express
• Ideal for beds and tubs: Lagurus ovatus 'Bunny's Tails Grass' - View Offer at Sarah Raven

There is a huge variety of ornamental grasses to choose from but fortunately, most are hardy, virtually carefree, and beautifully textured in their own unique ways. Perfect for pots, landscape design, and adding dynamic depth to your beds, we've brought together a list of the best ornamental grasses for your garden, as well as some planting ideas and care tips to help your grass thrive. You could even use this ornamental plant for privacy, which we all need...

Best ornamental grass for your garden

Ornamental Grass Care Buys

FAQs

What types are there?

There are numerous species and varieties of ornamental grasses, coming in various growth habits, including clumping, spreading, and trailing forms. Some are evergreen, while others are deciduous, meaning they lose their foliage in the winter. If you were keen on learning more, we've listed some common types of ornamental grass:

Fountain Grass (Pennisetum): Known for its arching, fountain-like growth habit, fountain grasses are popular for their fluffy, bottlebrush-like flower spikes.

Japanese Silver Grass (Miscanthus): These grasses are known for their tall, upright growth and feathery plumes that can be quite showy.

Switchgrass (Panicum): Switchgrass is a native North American grass that offers a range of cultivars with different heights and foliage colours.

Feather Reed Grass (Calamagrostis): This grass features upright, narrow foliage and feathery plumes, making it a popular choice for formal gardens.

Blue Fescue (Festuca glauca): A smaller ornamental grass with striking blue-grey foliage.

Maiden Grass (Miscanthus sinensis): Tall and graceful, these grasses are prized for their silky plumes and colourful fall foliage.

Ornamental grass planting ideas

Match with hardy geraniums and Siberian bugloss for the ultimate low-maintenance showstopper patio pot.

Plant into a trio of small patio pots to pretty up and punctuate your paving or decking.

Plant in a row to use as a garden screen from neighbours, to divide up your garden, or to frame a seating area.

Because of its cascading shape, ornamental grasses such as the Mexican feather grass look gorgeous in a wide shallow bowl.

Use as the perfect backdrop to show off garden sculptures, especially with grasses with fluffy heads that’ll gently sway in the slightest breeze. They’ll provide a beautiful contrast to straight lines and spheres.

Cut and dry some of the seedheads in autumn for indoor arrangements or leave them where they are to feed finches and other seed-eating garden birds.

What to read next:

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Piper Huxley is a Homes, Garden and Wellness Product Writer for Modern Gardens Magazine, an all-rounder. When she’s not writing about houseplants, she’s tending to her own growing collection…