My new favourite ornamental grasses these days are the blue-tinged beauties. Every year there are more and more ornamental grasses available to choose from in the garden nurseries, but my eyes seem to be increasingly drawn to the bluegrass varieties. I love the way the soft, steely, blue hue compliments the color of other perennials. While other ornamental grasses are grown for their attractive seed heads, the blue versions are chosen more for their attractive coloring.
This is blue oat grass, one of my favourites. Take note though, similar blue fescue varieties popular in the nurseries are smaller, less dramatic, and not as hardy.
This is a newer variety, called Blue Lyme Grass. I have discovered that it can be quite invasive in gardens, but is easy to pull out of spots you don’t want it in. It also makes a nice, dramatic thriller in containers.
Most ornamental grasses like full sun, but there are a few that tolerate some shade. Be sure to check the labels before purchasing for sun requirements and hardiness zones.
A pet peeve of mine is when garden nurseries sell plants not hardy to their area as perennials. One example here in zone 4/5 that I remind many clients about each year is the purple fountain grass. It is one of my favourites for annual containers, but will not survive our winters.
