GRASSES, SEDGES & BAMBOOS
These essential plants can be used in mixed borders, prairie-style plantings or in areas dedicated entirely to grasses, using either mixed or a single species or variety. They can be grown in containers, either singly or with other plants; they look good beside water, and some will grow in pond margins, though care needs to be taken not to allow invasive varieties to take over.
They look stunning where the sun shines through them from behind, and are better in this respect than other garden plants. Where they catch the wind, they impart a soft swaying movement, and positioned near paths allows people to give into the urge to touch them.
Planted en masse as ground cover, they can be interplanted with spring flowering bulbs, the previous years growth being tidied or cut back before the bulbs appear.
Though grasses are generally similar in form (they all tend to look grassy), there is still a huge range in form, leaf colour and size for the gardener to choose from. Whilst there are those with a stiff upright habit, others are soft, flowing and sprawling. Some relish hot dry soils, others damp cool shade.
Some are grown not only for their foliage, but also for their flowers which, whilst maybe not as colourful as other flowering plants, still come in a great variety. Some have dense flower spikes, others very diffuse, giving a light airy effect.
Deciduous grasses. as well the evergreen, contribute greatly to the winter garden with their browning or yellowing foliage enhanced by low winter sun, dew and hoar frosts.
Grasses have two growth habits, clump forming or running - plants in the latter group may need careful placing where their tendency to wander won't become a nuisance.
It is also important to know whether a particular grass or sedge is a 'cool season' or 'warm season' plant. The former will start growing in early spring, slow down during the summer, and have another growth spurt in the autumn (a bit like your lawn), and these are best divided during active growth during spring or autumn. Warm season plants are later to break into growth, and should only be divided in early summer when new growth is evident. When dividing grasses, don't be tempted to split them into small pieces - leaving them in larger chunks with good root systems will give them a much better chance of survival.
Evergreen grasses need tidying up in spring - remove dead leaves and leaf tips. Deciduous grasses can have their old foliage cut hard back, allowing the new foliage to come through.