Browse Plants

From the prairies of Nebraska comes a refined variety of big bluestem: 'Pawnee'. It has an upright habit and warm fall colors that persist into winter. Each stiffly vertical stem has the characteristic bluish purple cast of this genus. In late summer, 'Pawnee' develops purplish red flowers in groups of three or six, which resemble the foot of a turkey—hence its nickname: "Turkey Foot Grass." Big bluestem has an extensive root system that can extend down more than 10 feet. Each year, a third of these roots die, opening up channels for water.

Blue grama is a perennial grass from the Americas bearing unusually bent and flattened inflorescences. Being native to open grasslands, they are drought tolerant and at home in meadows. They provide the garden with shades of tan that persist throughout winter. 

'Hachita' is a vigorous plant with narrow, blue-green leaves that form dense mounds. During summer, the clumps are punctuated by intricate seed heads that resemble eyelashes. This tough, drought-tolerant grass thrives in sand or clay soil with full-sun exposure. It needs good drainage for the best growth. Too much water is often its downfall.

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Gardeners love this plant for its handsome, thin, vertical green foliage from spring through fall and for its wonderful flowers, which start out pink and then change to a fine tawny color with the cool days of autumn. 'Karl Foerster' reaches 6 feet high and 6 feet wide. Use in a border.  

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Two-foot-tall, stiff, orange-brown blades curve at the end like a shepherd’s staff. Burnished red-bronze foliage, which fades to flax at the tips, gives off a warm glow when backlit by the sun.

This sedge is one of the most adaptable of the ground-cover grasses. Its ability to look the same in sun or shade makes it a valuable asset in plantings that go in and out of full sun. Berkeley sedge is a good solution for areas under stress where lawn grasses often fail. The flowers are not particularly noteworthy.

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This beautiful sedge's vivid foliage adds bright color to the garden. The yellow seems to glow in partial shade. Use this dramatic clump of foliage near water or in shallow water, or in another moist location.

'Ice Dance' is a descriptive name for this eye-pleasing sedge. While the early-spring flowers are insignificant, the strappy leaves are striped with a clean white edge and complement just about any companion. 'Ice Dance' is evergreen and adds a sense of permanence to the winter shade garden. Remove any tattered leaves in early spring and then let it go for the rest of the growing season.

'Ice Dance' is a dense, spreading sedge grown for its foliage that has creamy-white margins and dark green centers. Stems are triangular compared to rounded grass stems. Flower stems are solid without nodes (compared to grasses, which are usually hollow with nodes). The flowers are insignificant. This sedge is evergreen in warm climates. Grow as a groundcover in woodland areas or in a shade garden.

Seersucker sedge is an evergreen, spreading sedge with narrow brown-black flowers on 8-inch stems in spring. Its wide, puckered foliage is shiny and bright green, reaching over a foot long. This sedge is native to rich woods of the eastern U.S. and makes a nice edger or accent plant.

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This sedge's pearly, straplike leaves resemble striped ribbon waiting to be wrapped around a package. It sports fuzzy green flowers with green stamens in late spring. Grow as an edging or groundcover.

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Northern sea oats is a loosely tufted, clump-forming grass with lance-shaped, arching mid-green foliage that turns yellow in winter. Summer brings highly decorative oat-like panicles of flat, green flowerheads that shimmer and rustle in the wind, aging to bronze by late summer.

This stunning grass has 1- to 3-foot-long, densely tufted plumes atop tall, upright stalks and arching mid-green leaves. Plumes come in white, cream, or beige-pink and appear in late summer.

This clumping, drought-tolerant grass is one of the best pampas grasses you could grow. It has the showy, late-summer plumes common to this group, but they grow straight up, not willy-nilly like many other varieties; they eventually stand 4 to 6 feet above the foliage. Even better news is that this cultivar does not set seed, so it is noninvasive. The foliage features distinct golden edges, which, for a grass, usually menas that it loves shade or moisture. But 'Gold Band' tolerates heat and drought, making it great for large containers, and it can handle coastal conditions, too.

This dwarf cultivar has mid-green leaves and densely tufted plumes atop tall, upright stalks and arching mid-green leaves. Masses of silvery yellow plumes appear in late summer.

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This exotic-looking beauty has a fantastic bold form and strong appeal. Its pendulous leaves sit on tall, upright stems. King Tut® is a rapid grower that makes an impressive centerpiece in the landscape. It likes wet places like water gardens or waterside and is perfect for containers without drainage holes. This papyrus is easy to grow and untroubled by pests or diseases.

A tuft of thin grassy foliage with gray and gold variegation distinguishes this cultivar. Early summer brings 3-foot-tall, airy plumes of tiny flowers that look beautiful when backlit by the sun. As fall approaches, the foliage turns golden with pink-coral tips. This grass even grows well in shadier sites. Plant in a border, woodland garden, or shaded rock garden.

This plant has densely tufted, spreading clumps of strap-like, flowing foliage. Pale blue-gray leaves arch loosely. In summer, it produces stiff, upright, blue-gray spikes of flowers that turn buff.

From late spring until fall, Boer love grass puts on a glorious display as inflorescences that emerge silver and dry to gold dance up to 2 feet above the fine-textured clump of foliage. The show is shorter in humid climates.

This striking clump-forming bamboo, with olive-purple stems, dark green leaves, and an upright habit, is suitable for screening. May be grown in a container if provided with adequate moisture.