Ideas for Landscaping a Long Driveway With Ornamental Grasses

Drought-Tolerant

• If the soil surrounding your driveway gets dry, plant drought-tolerant grasses. Species that thrive in dry soil include Mexican feather grass (Nassella tenuissima), a 2-foot-tall grass that grows in upright clumps of dense, fine foliage. This drought-tolerant grass grows well in sun to light shade and well-drained soil. The 3-foot-tall Muhlenbergia capillaries gulf muhly (Muhlenbergia capillaries) thrives in dry, sandy soil. Its lustrous, dark fronds grow to 3 feet tall and it produces delicate pink-gray-red inflorescences.

Shade-Tolerant

• Most ornamental grasses grow best in sunny sites, but a few tolerate -- or even prefer -- shady areas. If your driveway is surrounded by trees or shaded by buildings, choose shade-tolerant grasses. Tussock grass (Deschampsia cespitosa) grows best in light to partial shade and moist soil. This 3-foot-tall grass produces airy green-yellow inflorescences in fall and has fine, dark, evergreen foliage. It is available in a range of cultivars, from the Goldstaub, which produces yellow inflorescences, to the Tatureger, which has blue-green foliage. Other shade-tolerant species include porcupine grass (Miscanthus sinensis “Strictus”), which grows from 6 to 9 feet tall. It has upright, green-yellow striped foliage and thrives in partial shade and well-drained soil.

Salt-Tolerant

• If your driveway is near a road that gets de-iced with salt in the winter or you live in a coastal zone, plant salt-tolerant grasses. Heavy Metal blue switch grass (Panicum virgatum “Heavy Metal”) grows to 5 feet tall and has stiff, upright metallic-blue foliage. This salt-tolerant grass thrives in sunny sites and a range of soils. Prairie cord grass (Spartina pectinata) grows in dense, fountain-like clumps of dark, lustrous foliage. It tolerates salt and a range of soils and grows quickly up to 6 feet tall.

Cold-Tolerant

• If you live in regions that experience cold winter, choose cold-hardy grasses. Beard grass (Andropogon virginicus) and ribbon grass (Phalaris arundinacea “Picta”) both tolerate low average annual temperatures to minus 40 degrees Fahrenheit. Beard grass grows to 4 feet tall in stiff clumps of fine, green foliage that turns purple and red in autumn. It requires sunny exposures. Ribbon grass grows quickly to 3 feet tall and forms mounds of vertically striped, green-and-white foliage. It tolerates a range of soils and sun to partial shade exposures.