Grasses have outstanding characteristics that ought to make them deserve a hallowed place in people’s gardens, yet seldom are these plants appreciated and cultivated by the public. We (my wife, my daughter, and myself: the reluctant gardeners of this household) were like that, too, thinking that grasses are just good for their green leaves in our yard but not in our garden. We’ve made a 180-degree change in perspective and gardening likes. We’ve slowly embraced the beauty, dependability, and no-fuss allure of the grasses that now come in surprisingly varied colors, sizes, heights, growing habits, and looks.
In this blog, I share our Top Five Favorite Kinds of Grass. We have many more grasses we have fallen in love with, but that would make this blog extremely lengthy if I include additional favorite grasses. So, we’ll just stick with the top five….
1. Japanese Forest Grass (Hakonecloa macra Aureola)
Japanese forest grass (Hakonechloa macra) originates from areas around Mt. Hakone (hence its name) in Japan. This is our #1 favorite grass, and we use it extensively in our garden.
Hakone grass is a stunning companion plant to our other favorite plant, the Japanese weeping maple. This is a sunny, windy part of our streetside garden, so we regularly water the Hakone to keep its leaves looking bright and fresh; lack of water makes its leaves sulk and curl in.
What we love about it: It has a beautiful and exotic clumping habit; golden yellow blades drape downward like a water fountain. Like most grasses, this beauty has long-season interest and is low maintenance.
Hakone “All Gold” looks great among variegated hostas
Top Cultivars such as ‘All Gold,’ ‘Aureola’ and “Alboaurea” have variegated green and golden yellow leaves. This deciduous grass can be identified by its slender stems, which look like tiny bamboo stalks.
We use this as a companion plant to another top favorite, the dwarf Japanese weeping maple. They look great together.
It is striking in containers or as a color accent on borders, especially with darker green plants or those with purple flowers or foliage.
We love how the blades show intense colors in full sun (We just need to regularly water it, otherwise, its leaves dry out and curl inward).
Its fluorescent bright color brightens dark or shady areas of our garden.
It is great for edging, especially around curves of our garden borders and beds, since its cascading foliage spills out and blurs the boundary of the beds and borders.
Other gardeners use this as a stand-alone potted plant or as an accent plant. Planted in rows, it's an effective and eye-catching edging plant. Our favorite neighborhood park garden plants Hakone en masse; the leaves look like cascading golden waters rolling down the sloped side of the sports arena.
Size: 1-2’ height and width
Sun Exposure: Part shade (we plant some in full sun, with regular watering)
Soil Needs: Moist, well-drained, humusy
Watering: moderate, regular watering
2. Blue Fescue “Elijah Blue”
Blue Fescue “Elijah Blue” gets the bluest shade when planted in full sun
What we love about it: eye-catching sturdy blue blades create tidy mound.
We use fescue as edging plant and in big pots.
Other gardeners use Blue Fescues as border plants or planted in a row to create an organic fence.
Top Cultivars include atlas fescue (Festuca mairei), California fescue (Festuca californica), and sheep fescue (Festuca ovina).
Even as early as late April, blue fescue already looks handsome while the rest of our garden is just “waking up.” The leaves become more blue as they get more sunlight and heat.
Size: 2’ in height and width
Sun Exposure: Full Sun
Soil Needs: Dry, well-drained
Watering: Medium
3. New Zealand Flax (Phormium tenax)
Phormium has very showy strap-like leathery blades that shoot up and then gracefully arch downward as the leaves mature. New cultivars have many colored edges.
What we love about it: comes in an eye-catching variety of colors: deep-red, purplish-bronze, golden yellow; its broad or strap-like leaves are sturdy and very handsome-looking; it grows medium to tall height and spread (2 to as much as 5 feet), so it gains imposing stature.
We use New Zealand flax as an edging plant, in big pots, and as a stand-alone feature plant.
Other gardeners use this plant in many ways, from edging to accent to mass planting. The leaves are strongly striped and new cultivars have edges in cream, pastel yellow, and pink-orange, making this plant a light and colorful focal point. We’ve seen phormium “Yellow Wave” being cleverly used as a fence dividing the lawns and flower gardens of two gardening neighbors.
Rows of phormium “Yellow Wave” are used as a low fence by two neighbors who love to garden. This living fence allows the neighbors to view each other’s garden without obstruction while the public thinks their two adjoining gardens are actually just one large garden since the phormiums look like they’re part of the giant plant borders and flower beds.
Top Cultivars include Phormium atropurpureum (thick, sword-like, upright, leathery purple-red leaves), “Rainbow Queen” (bronze green center with thick salmon pink edges), “Yellow Wave” (bright apple green center with bright darker green edges), “Dark Delight” (strap-shaped leaves in dull purple), “Apricot Queen” (pastel yellow leaves, with green edges with a tinge of apricot), “Carousel” (green leaves with thick pink and orange edges), “Rainbow Sunrise” (pink in the center of leaves with bronze edges)
Size: 2’ to 5’ height and width
Sun Exposure: Full Sun, will take part shade
Soil Needs: Rich, moist, well-drained
Watering: Medium
4. Mexican feather grass (Stipa tenuissima)
Mexican Feather Grass is well-loved for its multitude of airy seedheads that gracefully dance with the gentlest of wind blowing.
People are planting this grass (Stipa tenuissima) everywhere, in home gardens, public parks, and even on rooftops and road dividers. That hints at this plant’s desirability and sturdiness. The seeds are at the very tips of the featherlike “blades,” which wave in the gentlest of winds. Mexican feather grass also spreads. It can show up all over the yard, in sidewalk cracks, and down the street in neighbors’ yards.
Size: 2 to 3 feet in width and height
Sun Exposure: Full Sun
Water: Low to medium
Soil Needs: Dry, well-drained.
5. Purple Fountain Grass
Red-burgundy leaves and “very danceable” seedheads make Purple Fountain grass, though often treated as an annual by most, rank pretty high in our list of favorite grasses.
What we love about it: We love anything that has purple or burgundy leaves. Purple fountain grass (Pennisetum setaceum ‘Rubrum’) fits the bill. Besides, it has a striking, fountain-like form. Its flowers are featherlike, graceful in shape and in movement, dancing with the breeze. I imagine the feathery seedheads as frothy San Mig beer or vigorously shaken whipping cream on top of ube (purple yam) ice cream, so sometimes when I look at the flowering Purple Fountain Grass, I think of dinner’s dessert or after-dinner drink.
We use it as a companion plant for bulky-looking plants, to tone down the heavy look. Also because it’s relatively less hardy than other grasses (most people grow this grass purely as an annual), the other plants protect it from harsh cold winds and dipping temperatures; we cover the deadheaded base with mulch or landscape fabric to help it effectively survive very cold days.
Other people add this grass to potted plants to inject a burst of color and form. It is also excellent as a focal point, due to its desirable colors, pleasing form, and ability to sway with the wind. Most public parks and commercial garden spaces plant this grass en masse for a more dramatic effect. The seedheads appear to sway in waves as a breeze blows, and the audible rustling of the leaves adds well to the dramatic effect.
Size: 2’ to 3’ width, 3-5 ‘ height
Sun Exposure: Full Sun, will take part shade
Soil Needs: Rich, moist, well drained
Watering: Medium
Purple Fountain grass is very striking as an edging or corner-of-the-garden accent
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