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Lawn Alternatives: Ornamental Grasses and Sedges "Plant a meadow instead of a lawn." -- John Greenlee From "Dirt On Gardening" episode DDOG-111

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This plot from one of John's "sample meadows" includes the groundcover Ajuga and flowering verbena.

Factors to Consider Before Selecting

• What part of the country do you live in and what grows well in your area.

• Will the area you're planting get foot traffic?

• Is it predominantly in the sun or shade?

• Think natives. Most areas of the country have sedge that grows naturally--a sign that ornamental grasses/sedge will do well in your yard.
  

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Following is a list of ornamental grasses that you may want to consider broken down by basic size and common attributes.

Evergreen grasses for a natural meadow:

• autumn moor grass (Sesleria autumnalis): sun.
  
• Berkeley sedge (Carex tumulicola): sun or shade.
  
• European meadow sedge (Carex remota): sun or shade.
  
• maires fescue (Festuca mairei): good choice for desert; sun.
  
• meadow moor grass (Sesleria heuffleriana): sun.
  

Meadow grasses to walk on:

• buffalo grass (Buchloe dactyloides): dormant in winter, good in the desert; sun.
  
• California meadow sedge (Carex pansa): creeping evergreen grass; sun or shade.
  
• catlin sedge (Carex texensis): clumping evergreen grass; sun or shade.
  
• mosquito grass (Bouteloua gracilis): dormant in winter, good in the desert; sun.
  
• valley meadow sedge (Carex praegracilis): creeping evergreen grass; sun or shade.
  

Accent grasses for sunny meadows or borders:

• deer grass (Muhlenbergia rigens):): 3 to 4 feet tall.
  
• eulalla or Japanese silver grass (Miscanthus sinensis):): 5 to 6 feet tall.
  
• evergreen miscanthus (Miscanthus transmorrisonensis):): 3 feet tall; one of the best maiden grasses for small gardens.
  
• fountain grass (Pennisetum):): many varieties; 1 to 4 feet tall, depending on variety.
  
• giant feather grass (Stipa gigantea):): 2 to 3 feet tall (6 feet when in bloom).
  
• Mexican feather grass (Stipa tenuissima):): 1 to 2 feet tall.

1. Get to know your native grasses.

2. Go for color-variety. Aside from more typical "grass greens," ornamentals come in deeper greens, lime, burgundy and silver. According to John Greenlee, grasses are the "anchor" of your meadow, but then there are flowering plants as well.

3. Don't forget texture. Consider planting combinations of grasses and sedges to create a mosaic of texture as well as color.

4. Be ecologically minded. For every region across the country, there's a native sedge/grass to replace a thirsty lawn.

5. Plant an annual border of grasses.

Go to next article in DIY's "Green Gardener" series.

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