Grasses for dry sandy soils and sunny hot planting locations

Ornamental grasses have come in for a bit a tough time of late. Somehow grasses have been implicated in the misplaced ‘modernisation’ of gardening. I put this down to the Pampas effect. But there is so much more to grasses than pampas, and what’s wrong with pampas anyway? Surely this is the work of the stick in the mud brigade; lets all move just get gardening shall we?

In truth grasses are becoming increasingly popular as versatile plants that can both in-fill gaps and prolong seasonal interest within mixed planting of herbaceous plants, ground cover and low shrubs. Grasses are also of great value as they have both an attractive spiky form throughout the summer months, only to often provide a splash of impressive flower spikes in the late summer and early autumn, when many other herbaceous plants and shrubs have run out of steam.

Grasses are also useful because as a rule they will tolerate poorer sandy soil types as well as flourish in our increasingly hot dry summer months. Whether planting in a pot as a specimen, as focal points within plantings, or planting in drifts mixed with herbaceous flowers and ground cover, there is always a place for ornamental grasses somewhere in the garden.

Click Image for Full Profile	Latin & Common Name	Earmark	Type & Form	Flowers & Foliage
	Stipa gigantea Spanish Oat grass, Stipa		Herbaceous Flowers, Grass, Container-friendly, Spikey	White flowers (Summer)
	Ophiopogon planiscapus 'Nigrescens' Lily turf		Grass, Ground cover, Container-friendly, Spikey	White flowers (Summer)
	Cortaderia selloana Pampass Grass, Cortaderia		Grass, Spikey	White flowers (Summer late)
	Stipa tenuissima Wavy Hair grass, Stipa		Grass, Ground cover, Container-friendly, Spreading arching	Cream flowers (Summer late)
	Miscanthus sinensis 'Yakushima Dwarf' Elephant grass, Miscanthus		Grass, Ground cover, Container-friendly, Spikey	White flowers (Summer late)
	Carex Comans-Bronze Sedge, Carex		Grass, Spikey	Golden flowers (Summer late)
	Festuca glauca 'Elijah Blue'		Grass, Ground cover, Alpine, Container-friendly, Rounded - Clump	Non-flowering
	Pennisetum villosum Fountain grass, Pennisetum		Grass, Container-friendly, Spikey	White flowers (Autumn)
	Melica ciliata Melics		Grass, Spikey	White flowers (Summer)
	Phalaris aruninacea Feesey		Grass, Container-friendly, Spikey	Non-flowering