Plant Guide: Ornamental Grasses for Movement and Low Drama

Ornamental grasses bring motion, sound, and winter structure that static shrubs cannot match. Use fine-textured grasses to soften hardscape and larger specimens as focal points.

Match mature size to the spot; many grasses look polite in a pot and enormous by year three. Most deciduous grasses are cut back in late winter before new growth. Evergreen types need a lighter touch.

Combine grasses with perennials and shrubs for a four-season composition that still feels calm from the curb.