Fill your plot with easy-grow grasses
Much more than filler plants, grasses are an easy-grow summer staple
We get wowed by flowers in summer and, of course, they form the bulk of our pots and borders, bringing colour and star appeal. But if you really want your plants to knit together, there’s a brilliant trick to creating cohesion so that everything flows and fits together perfectly. The trick is using grasses!
It’s the little-noticed key element to the success of many show gardens, and these wonderful, versatile plants are just starting their golden season now. They’ll get going this month before reaching full crescendo over autumn and winter, then start all over again after a tidy up in early spring. The best part is they take very little in the way of care! Here are some inspiring tips to get you going with grasses this summer.
Large loomers
Panicum ‘Northwind’ – a brilliant, neatly upright plant. Tall but perfect for small gardens to add height. Blue turns yellow-orange in autumn. Deciduous; remove old flower stems and dead leaves in spring. Perfect partner: Sedum (hylotelephium) ‘Matrona’
Miscanthus ‘Ferner Osten’ – tall grass to 2m (6½ft), for treating as a statement feature in small gardens – like a tree. Red flowers in summer and coppery leaves in autumn. Cut down to ground in early spring. Perfect partner: Amaranthus
Low-growers
Hakonechloa macra – hummocks of floppy leaves to overhang a path. Sun, shade or part shade in moist soil. Semi-evergreen – keeps its fading leaves. Trim back dead stems in early spring. Perfect partner: Hostas Festuca glauca ‘Elijah Blue’
– evergreen, icy-blue leaves and sprays of flowers that turn brown. Full sun and well-drained soil. Comb through to remove old foliage in spring. Perfect partner: Pencil conifers
Mid-height options
Nassella (stipa) tenuissima – easy and versatile to grow, and extremely pretty to boot. Yellow-green leaves are topped with hair-like flower wisps. Sun and well-drained soil, neaten up in spring. Perfect partner: Achillea
Hordeum jubatum – its common name, foxtail barley, gives an idea as to its fancy flower panicles, which often have a red tinge. Deciduous, to be tidied up or trimmed down in spring. Sun and well-drained soil. Perfect partner: Tagetes
Perfect for pots
Carex testacea – easy-peasy plant to provide colourful filler for most plant combinations.
Eragrostis ‘Totnes Burgundy’
– a statement piece to dangle over a tall pot. For sun in mild gardens.