Here in the Pacific Northwest, I’ve found that ornamental grasses are a wonderful way to extend the season. There are many selections that offer a low-maintenance, easy-care means of bringing life, beauty, and movement into the late summer garden. 

Some grasses are especially wonderful for introducing a dynamic quality to the garden. They flow and move, catching the light and the breeze. For example, Nassela tenuissima,  Miscanthus sinensis ‘Adagio’, and variegated purple moor grass are particularly showy in late summer and into fall. But all pale in comparison when held up against the pièce de résistance featured in the video above: Stipa gigantea, giant feather grass.

So as we steer a course for fall, I’d like to take a moment to revel in some ornamental grasses—fantastic contributors that will continue to decorate the upcoming autumnal scenes—that are taking center stage in gardens now.

It was really hard to pick just a few, but these are some of my current favourites.