Ornamental grasses have graceful forms and varying tex- tures that make them perfect foils for shrubs and perenni- als. Some multiply by spreading stolons or rhizomes (a few can self-sow and become invasive). Most have a clumping growth habit and make excellent container plants.
container Pennisetum massaicum ‘Red Bunny Tails’ captures sunlight in its seed heads, while at its base, Calibrachoa bears blooms in smoldering autumn hues. Design: John Greenlee.
Tufts of Mexican feather grass nearly glow among rocks in this Santa Barbara garden; thyme grows between stacked fieldstone boulders in foreground. Design: Margie Grace, Grace Design Associates.
Festuca glauca ‘Elijah Blue’ and tufted hair grass (Deschampsia cespitosa ‘Goldtau’) flank a rill.