Flowers and Grasses—A Happy Union

Grass and Flower Combinations that I Like - Part 1

Mexican feather grass (Nasella tenuissima) is a fine textured grass that forms mounds of hair-like foliage. The delicate silvery green blades sway in the wind. It is a sun lover and is hardy to zones 6-10. Here it blends well with the upright purple spike flowers of blazing star (Liatris spicata). Photo by Laura McKillop. 

Ornamental grasses are excellent plants to add to any kind of landscape. Their thin linear blades add softness and movement in the landscape, providing an almost ethereal effect. Plant these grasses with colorful flowers and you have a winning combination!

Warm season grasses look their best in summer and fall and so, these go well with summer-blooming flowers. In addition, they are drought-tolerant and look good in the heat of summer when other plants look bedraggled. Best of all, most grasses are deer resistant.

Zinnia ‘Profusion Yellow’, an annual flower, blooms nonstop all summer with two inch wide flowers on a low growing plant, no higher than 15 inches tall. Here, it peeks out next to the arching blades of  dwarf fountain grass (Pennisetum alopecuroides ‘Hameln’).

These tough, perennial plants are available in a variety of shapes, sizes and colors. There are mounding grasses such as fountain grass (Pennisetum), vase-shaped grasses like maiden grass (Miscanthus), and upright grasses, such as switchgrass (Panicum). And they are colorful too! You can insert subtle color with ‘Beyond Blue’ blue fescue or the native little bluestem ‘Twilight Zone’.

Flowers and grasses make a happy union because they allow each other to shine. The following offers specific grass and flower combinations. But it is just a starting point, feel free to make other combinations—mixing colors, shapes and textures is such a fun endeavor.

‘Morning Light’ Maiden Grass and Geranium ‘Rozanne’

Geranium ‘Rozanne’ is a perennial covered with purple/blue flowers from late spring through summer and often into fall. It tends to sprawl so a good place to plant it is atop a wall where it can grow freely. Hardy in USDA zones 5-8. ‘Morning Light’ maiden grass makes a lovely silvery backdrop to many flowers.

‘Rozanne’ geranium is a popular, long blooming perennial covered with beautiful, violet-blue flowers from June to frost. It requires little attention and midsummer heat does not deter the flowers! This plant has mounds of deeply cut, green foliage that spread out. A special plus—the blue color of the flowers deepens as the weather gets cooler.

This plant is such a performer that the Royal Horticultural Society has named 'Rozanne' the "Plant of the Centenary," the society's top honor in 100 years of flower shows.  

The showy violet-blue blooms of ‘Rozanne’ geranium are not especially loved by deer. It has excellent heat tolerance. Here it is planted with dwarf fountain grass—another flower and grass combo! Both tolerate full sun or partial shade.

‘Rozanne’ is a wonderful companion to the variegated ‘Morning Light’ maiden grass (Miscanthus sinensis ‘Morning Light’). A vase-shaped grass with thin blades, it makes a lovely, upright silhouette and its delicate silvery foliage catches the light in the garden. It grows to 3-6  ft tall. Its fluffy, cream colored feather-like flowers bloom from late August through October and persist through the winter. Leave ‘Morning Light’ grass standing during the winter for its straw-beige color and as a nesting place for certain birds. It is suitable for USDA hardiness zones 5– 9.  'Morning Light,' does not produce viable seeds so it is not invasive.

An elegant summer combination, you can also plant  ‘Rozanne’ geranium and ‘Morning Light’ maiden grass in a raised planter or large pot. They are both deer and rabbit resistant.

Here is ‘Morning Light’ maiden grass and Japanese forest grass planted with Geranium ‘Rozanne’. The tree is ‘Heritage’ river birch.

Japanese Forest Grass and Blue Flowers

As a designer in deer country, I am always looking for great deer resistant combinations. I particularly like the low-growing ornamental grass, yellow Japanese forest grass (Hakonechloa macra ‘Aureola’) for its drooping bamboo-like blades. This plant holds its golden color all summer long. It can be planted along a walk, in a planter, or on a hillside. It tolerates some shade and is hardy to USDA hardiness zone 6. It is deer resistant.

The combination of Japanese forest grass and blue flowers is particularly striking. I often plant it alongside the durable ‘Walker’s Low’ catmint (Nepeta x faassenii ‘Walker’s Low’). This deer resistant perennial was named ‘Plant of the Year for 2007’ because it is easy to grow and its small, blue-purple flowers bloom prolifically in early summer. Shear catmint back by half after it blooms and it will flower again, less fully, in early fall. Also try the more compact ‘Cat’s Meow catmint.

MORE TO COME!

The soft blue-gray flowers of ‘Walkers Low’ catmint contrast beautifully with the drooping yellow blades of golden Japanese forest grass (Hakonechloa macra ‘Aureola’). Both are deer resistant perennials.