Ornamental Grasses That Look Good All Year Round

Dry Areas

• Blue oat grass is an evergreen ornamental grass that grows well in dry conditions. This type of ornamental grass has bluish-green foliage and blooms brown flowers during the summer. Blue oat grass grows at a moderate rate, is deer resistant and will reach heights of up to 3 feet. Another option for dry areas is blue Indian grass. This type of grass needs partial to full sun, has bluish-green foliage and grows in upright clumps up to 6 feet tall. Blue Indian grass is a fast grower and has yellow flowers that bloom in the late summer.

Wet Areas

• Switch grass grows well in wet areas and has burgundy foliage. This evergreen ornamental grass grows best in full sun. The plant has white flowers that bloom in the early fall and late summer. Switch grass can reach heights of up to 6 feet. Reed grass is a semi-evergreen, which means some of the leaves may fall off during harsh winters. However, for mild winters, these plants will stay evergreen year round. This clump-forming grass does well in full sun to partial shade and has white to reddish flowers that bloom from June to July. The flowers turn to a buff color in the autumn and stay throughout the winter.

Shaded Areas

• Plant northern sea oats in shaded or partial sunny areas and keep the soil moist at all times. The grass can reach 3 feet tall and 2 feet wide. This fast-growing, clumping grass has green flowers that will bloom during the summer. Snowy woodrush does best in shaded environments; however, the plant will survive in the sun in cool climate areas. This clump-forming ornamental grass grows to about 18 inches tall and has light-green foliage. White flowers bloom on snowy woodrush from May to June.

Fast Spreaders

• Pampas grass is a fast-spreading ornamental grass that thrives in warm climates. The plant bears white showy flowers from late summer to early autumn. Pampas grass has narrow, strap-like leaves and the plant can reach heights of up to 20 feet. Fountain grass bears bottle brush-like flowers that bloom during the summer. The grass thrives in full sun and has green foliage. Fountain grass will only grow to about 1 foot tall and 3 feet wide.