Having a healthy lawn is much more than just showy flowers. The Ornamental grasses in Ontario are the neglected components of your lawn that provide a myriad of benefits.
Tall ornamental grasses for privacy in Ontario are surprisingly versatile, creating a natural habitat and enhancing the visual impact.
Many of these grasses bring movement, vibrant colour, and texture to your lawn. In addition to that, you can choose the ones that grow upright to fit in smaller areas or the ones that spread rapidly, covering large spaces.
To understand about the ornamental grasses in Ontario, read this guide.
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Why You Should Consider Ornamental Grasses in Ontario?
For garden design purposes, ornamental grasses in Ontario add colour, movement, texture, and dimension to the landscape.
The best feature of the ornamental grasses in Ontario is that they can survive the winter undamaged.
Even if the tall ornamental grasses for privacy in Ontario get covered by snow, it is a wonderful sight.
The tufted, feathery blossoms of many ornamental grasses in Ontario appear in the summer or fall.
When the weather cools off, their foliage frequently changes colour, enhancing the stunning autumnal landscape.
Once established, they can withstand droughts quite well, which makes them a great addition to environmentally friendly gardening.
10 Best Tall Ornamental Grasses for Privacy in Ontario
If you want to get ornamental grasses in Ontario to elevate the look of your lawn and enhance privacy, here is a list of options you have.
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1. Canada Rye – Our Top Pick for Tall Ornamental Grasses for Privacy in Ontario
For those searching for tall ornamental grasses for privacy in Ontario, this one is the top pick.
The height of the grass can be around 5 feet. Canada Rye is a clump-forming grass of the chilly season. It grows in a range of well-drained soils in full sun to partial shade, demonstrating its extreme adaptability.
The beautiful, drooping seed heads provide winter interest and nourish birds. The seed heads are particularly eye-catching when sown in large quantities since they flutter in the breeze.
If you want to level up the privacy of your lawn, we have some fabulous privacy fence ideas for you.
2. Bottlebrush Grass
Its height is 3 feet and 90 centimetres, so you can add it to your list of tall ornamental grasses for privacy in Ontario.
It grows seamlessly in partly shaded to dappled regions of your lawn. You will find this type mostly in different forests.
The most shade-tolerant bunchgrass on this list is bottlebrush grass, an upright cool-season variety.
It is frequently observed growing on slopes and rocky places. The soil can withstand dry shadow if it contains a significant amount of organic matter.
In shadow gardens, bottlebrush grass creates a lovely structural grass. Adding some early greenery to your garden is an excellent choice because it greens up in the early spring.
When the sun is shining from behind the spikey heads of the grass, you will love the visuals of it.
Birds may consume the seeds of the grass. So, to make sure you don’t have to deal with bare spots later, keep a check on the seeds.
3. Junegrass
The height of this grass is 90 cm or around 3 feet, and it thrives in sun exposure.
Junegrass is a clumping grass of the chilly season that is highly prized in natural garden design because of its beautiful blue-green foliage that emerges in the early spring.
It can grow in most well-drained soils but is typically found in arid, sandy places.
If you are looking for ornamental grasses in Ontario that are beneficial for ecological restoration because they grow well in compacted soils, this can be your best bet.
Early summer, when its golden-brown seed heads contrast with the greens of nearby warm-season grasses like Little Bluestem, is when Junegrass has its highest visual value.
Shenandoah Switchgrass
You will enjoy seeing this attractive grass’s foliage change colour with the seasons. Shenandoah switchgrass has a cool blue-green springtime emergent.
It gets a reddish hue throughout the summer and turns burgundy throughout the fall.
This grass thrives in full light and continually damp soil, so during the hottest summer months, make sure to give it plenty of water.
4. Japanese Blood Grass
Japanese Blood Grass has ordinary grassy green leaf blades at the base, but the top half is a vivid crimson red.
Known for its striking colour contrast, this is from one of the highly sought-after perennial ornamental grasses in Ontario.
When fully grown, it reaches a modest 2 feet high and wide, making it a great substitute ground cover for bare patches in the landscape and garden.
This grass may have pest issues. To take care of that without using harsh chemicals, here are some organic pest contol methods.
5. Karl Foerster Feature Reed Grass
It needs relatively little upkeep and is highly drought-tolerant. All year long, the Karl Foerster offers fantastic colour. Their stunning seed heads can be left on throughout the winter to add magnificent colour in the fall and winter.
That’s why this is one of the most commonly found ornamental grasses in Ontario.
You may trim them back in the spring and wait for the new growth to sprout.
6. Pennisetum Hameln
This is one of the types of ornamental grass that grows perfectly on borders and can reach a height of three feet.
It has silvery-white plumes that look gorgeous and last for a long time. If you decide to have this on your lawn, the glossy, fluffy appearance throughout the winter will catch everyone’s attention.
7. Little Bluestem Or Beard Grass
Little Bluestem is an ornamental grass that grows upright and densely with teal-green foliage that emerges in the spring.
As it ages, it becomes a favourite choice for autumn colour, taking on a vivid rusty red tone.
Its fluffy white seeds are a bird’s favourite food source during winter when fruit and seeds are sparse. It isn’t invasive, so it will grow exactly where you plant it.
8. Fescue Grass
When planted in the front, fescue grass borders garden beds well. However, if you are looking for tall ornamental grasses for privacy in Ontario, this can’t be your pick as it belongs to the dwarf categories of grasses.
Throughout the summer, fescue requires very little watering and upkeep. Rather than being planted as focal points, these grasses are frequently employed as ground covers.
Fescue grasses offer wonderful highlights to your low-maintenance landscape and are available in a variety of colours.
If you intend to use fescue grass in your landscaping project, keep in mind that it tends to seed easily.
This implies that they may eventually need to be pruned out since they may establish roots in other parts of your garden bed.
9. Overdam Reed Grass and Avalanche Reed Grass
Consider Overdam Reed grass and Avalanche Reed grass if you want your decorative grass to have more colour and diversity.
These grasses feature variegated blades, which have a mixture of cream, white and green colours.
Additionally, these ornamental grasses in Ontario have a very tough tolerance, meaning that in certain situations, they can be left unwatered or very little throughout the summer.
Although they won’t get as tall as Karl Forester, both types of grass reach a comparable breadth.
They seem best in clusters; you can arrange them in odd numbers, such as three or five plants to use as tall ornamental grasses for privacy in Ontario.
10. Blue Oat Grass
Blue oat grass is one of the excellent-looking ornamental grasses in Ontario. Its deep grey-blue colour enhances any garden bed.
They are ornamental grass that grows lower in mounds and looks fantastic in classic and modern landscapes.
Up close, they can be confused about a particular dessert cactus. Blue Oat grass is incredibly resilient and can easily tolerate cold weather.
You may give your landscaping some winter appeal by leaving their blades on.
Similar to Karl Forester, as soon as spring starts, you should trim back any dead foliage.
Advantages of Ornamental Grasses in Ontario
Here are the benefits of tall ornamental grasses for privacy in Ontario:
1. Control Erosion
The roots of ornamental grass are incredibly fibrous, and many of them can reach deep into the ground.
Due to the firm root system of the ornamental grasses in Ontario, they slow down the water flow and control erosion by acting as a barrier.
2. Serve As Natural Bird Feeders
The majority of our native birds consume seeds at some time during their life cycle. Birds have an abundant supply of seeds from native grasses. This is integral during the tough cold months when food is in short supply.
If you like birds in your lawn, but filling bird feeders in the winter is tedious and repetitive, lay over some grass seeds.
On the other hand, if you are tired of birds eating your grass seeds, here are 13 ways to tackle the problem.
3. Fantastic Low-Maintenance Choice
Ornamental grasses in Ontario are ideal for gardeners who desire low-maintenance plants.
They are resistant to drought, strong winds, and other environmental difficulties and hardly have any pests.
They are excellent choices for a garden because they require little maintenance.
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4. Survive Seasonal Change
Ornamental grasses in Ontario are incredibly adaptable. They provide a rich summer backdrop for annuals or other striking hues, but they come into their own in the fall and winter.
Normally, these grow swiftly and are less expensive.
These ornamental grasses won’t need to be constantly sheared, which could squash the floral arrangement. As an added benefit, some ornamental grasses like Elijah Blue Fescue, Vanilla grass, Blue Oat grass, etc., have flowers.
5. Great To Have Around Water Bodies
Ornamental grasses in Ontario are an essential accent element for any landscaping that includes a pool, pond, or other water feature.
These plants make excellent borders for large ponds because of their free-flowing nature, and they look amazing near water.
The best part is that one plant becomes two with a mirror image when it is reflected in the water.
For more ideas on how to spruce up your lawn on a budget, check out our blog on Low-Maintenance Backyard Landscape Ideas.
FAQs
Which kind of ornamental grass grows the tallest?
Two of the tallest varieties of ornamental grass are pampas grass and Chinese silver grass.
How can I trim the ornamental grasses in Ontario?
First, make sure that the ornamental grass you are trimming has no sharp edges. If it does, use gloves and take the appropriate safety measures. Before cutting with sharp garden edges, it is convenient to knot the grass into a bundle.
When is the right time to cut back ornamental grasses in Ontario?
In Ontario, late winter to early spring (February to April) is the ideal time to trim ornamental grasses before new growth appears. You can protect the fresh shoots and get rid of dead growth at the same time. While certain species may have different requirements, most ornamental grasses thrive during this time.
Do ornamental grasses in Ontario propagate?
While some decorative grass varieties cluster, others spread. Certain varieties both spread and cluster. Understand the functions of the decorative grass you have selected so that you can plant it in the right spot in your yard and prevent invasive species from taking over.
In Conclusion
This was our selection of the best ornamental grasses in Ontario and why choosing them is a wise decision.
You can grow these ornamental grasses in Ontario in garden beds, as borders, as focal points in your landscape, or even in containers.
Their tall, airy form gives height and textural contrast, counterbalancing mounded filler plants and trailing vines.
If you need help growing grass or doing landscaping tasks, you can simply contact Falcons Landscaping. With professionals catering to clients’ various landscaping needs, you won’t have to look elsewhere.