Small grasses

Hiya
Does anyone have experience of small grasses and sedges as ground cover as the understory or a prairie or border planting?
Jack

 

No experience, but Hakonechloa (Japense forest grass) is on my wish list.

 

Tesco are selling pampass grass for 2 quid a pot

 

@JackJJW
I grow Carex "Comans Bronze" (bronze New Zealand hair sedge) quite a nice little grass clumps up quite nicely. Had it about 10 years in a well drained border now about 1ft across and the same tall. The only problem is quite often I'm not sure if it's still alive. I have a couple of other small grasses but I'm not sure of the names. They do pretty well in well drained conditions, the tussocky one has an attraction to cats as a litter tray.

 

Thanks everyone. Carex "Comans Bronze" sounds good.

I'm trying to find some of these short, wispy grasses they have in show gardens. Where they're kinda fluffy and airy. Preferably looking for slightly blue grasses or those that fade to a bronze/ purple buff.

I'm really interested in trying to make a tight knit prairie style plant community this year and grasses are quite important for that.


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Oh brilliant! Thank you, they look lovely and the right height.


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Perhaps also consider Festuca Glauca? One of my favourites. Easy to find, cheap, compact and handsome and blueish.
A bit leftfield : Ophiopogon Nigrescens Black Mondo


GG

 

Carex "Little Red"

 

They grow huge!

And are sooooo '70's

 

I love how pampas grass looks (I grew up on the East Lothian coast for a lot of my childhood and it grows wild all over the place there), but aye, I dinnae think one can classify it as a "small grass"!

 

I've found these Carex's:http://www.plantpref.co.uk/carex.html

I'm probably after some of these mini "grass" type plants for under herbaceous plants, and also some slightly bigger small grasses like the ones you've all been mentioning.

I was reading about plant communities and the idea is to fill all soil gaps with 'understorey' plants. And I like the wild kind of meadow look of many new borders... so thought I'd give that a go! :D

Might just order a few different ones and see how they grow I guess :D

 

Oh sorry I couldn't resist my next door neighbour has some and its about 7 ft by 3 ft..

 

Jack, the try and see approach isn't a bad one and I like the plants you linked to. Never heard the term "plant communities" before, so that is something I'll take a peek at (just so I know what you are talking about )

A positive midget then ...

 

M It's a bit of a beast!

Jack I'm not sure if this is what your after but jparkers mag came the other day and I spotted these
http://www.jparkers.co.uk/festuca-glauca-elijah-blue-2
http://www.jparkers.co.uk/3-grass-ornamental-collection
The second link are carec.
There is a purple one that looks pretty, pennisetum fireworks that's purple but grows to 90cm.