Increasingly popular amongst modern gardeners, ornamental grasses are generally tolerant and easy to care for, grow in a variety of conditions and encourage wildlife into the garden, with some of the evergreen varieties providing shape, colour and structure all year round.

Ornamental grasses are often said to have a calming effect as they rustle, moving gently in the breeze. This versatile group of plants can be used in many different settings, including rockeries, gravel gardens, herbaceous beds or in containers.

Different grasses provide foliage and flower at different times of the year and it’s helpful to know that grasses such as Deschampsia, Festuca and Stipa come from cooler climates and begin growing in late winter/early spring, flowering in early summer. By comparison, Miscanthus and Pennisetums originate in warmer climates and begin growing and flowering later.

Here’s some of the grasses that we find do well in our local area:

Festuca ‘Intense Blue’

This low-growing, clump-forming grass is one of our best sellers and, although it produces brown flowers in summer, it is primarily grown for its vibrant blue foliage. A useful plant, it’s often used in rockeries, at the edges of cottage garden borders or in planters.

F. ‘Intense Blue’ enjoys well-drained, sunny positions and requires little maintenance. In spring, ‘comb out’ any dead leaves to allow the fresh new blue foliage to flourish. Over time the centre of the plant will die out, so lift and subdivide it in the dormant season every few years to keep this beautiful grass fresh and vigorous.

Stipa

Stipa plants are enjoyed for both their foliage and fabulous sprays of flowerheads, and here’s two that are worth a particular mention.

Stipa tenuissima, commonly known as ‘Pony’s Tails’, is prized for its fantastic plumes of feathery flowerheads in summer. A non-evergreen plant, it enjoys good soil and full sun and grows to approximately 60cm (2ft) high. It will die back and ‘hibernate’ underground in winter and any dead leaves should be cut back in spring to encourage new growth.

Stipa arundinacea – often called ‘Pheasant’s Tail’ – also produces wonderful plumes of flowerheads and additionally is prized for its attractive winter foliage colour. The fountain-like clumps of slender foliage develop orange/red/yellow spots and streaks in autumn, intensifying in colour as the temperature drops, making it an attractive feature in the winter garden. S. arundinacea can endure exposed positions, full sun to partial shade and, whilst tolerant of low temperatures, it should be protected if the thermometer falls below -10 degrees celsius.

Miscanthus sinensis Zebrinus

With creamy or pale yellow horizontal bands on the leaves, it is commonly known as the Zebra Grass. The banding on the leaves of this non-evergreen grass gives an almost sparkling appearance in the sunshine.

Enjoying full sun, it is tolerant of a wide range of soil conditions, providing that they are well-drained. Avoid planting in areas where it will sit in water over winter as that will lead to rot. Growing to over one metre tall, the Zebra Grass produces spiky flowers in late summer/autumn which are mirage-like when waving in the breeze.

Phormium varieties

These evergreen, hard grasses are amazingly tolerant of a wide range of conditions. Most varieties have been cultivated from Phormium tenax, a very hardy plant that can withstand strong, salty winds, making it ideally suited to our East Lothian climate.

Depending on the variety, they can grow from 60cm (2ft) to over two metres (6ft) tall, and their attractive, sword-like leaves offer colour and structure throughout the year. Indeed, visitors to Merryhatton can see mature Phormiums at our entrance with their exotic flower plumes that dry out and remain on the plant long after the flower heads are gone.

There’s a fantastic range of colourful Phormium varieties as you might imagine, from Ph. ‘Apricot Queen’, Ph. ‘Blondie’, Ph. ‘Pink Strip’ or Ph. ‘Black Panther’ to name just a few.

Cortaderia ‘Pumila’

A compact version of the well-known pampas grass, this robust variety forms a compact tuft of narrow leaves with upright stems and panicles of dense silvery or pink-tinged flowers in late summer.

Growing up to 1.5 metres (5ft) tall, this plant is evergreen and the flowers are excellent for drying and popular for use in the home. C. ‘Pumila’ needs good sunlight and well-drained soil but is happy in sheltered or exposed situations. Like most grasses, it’s best to ‘comb out’ dead leaves in the spring to encourage new, fresh growth.

Although we can only mention a few varieties here, the range of ornamental grasses is extensive and hopefully this might tempt you to experiment with them in your own garden.

You’ll find more information on our website at www.merryhatton.co.uk and, as always, our plant team are delighted to chat about plants and gardens and let you learn from their experience.