My flower garden is in pretty good shape, but it needs something. Any suggestions? RH

Many a gardener finds themselves in this dilemma. We did our best to plan our gardens, we shopped, we brought home everything on our list, and got them planted. But it still seems like it needs something. What should we do?

First, if you planted perennials, in my experience it takes at least a year for them to take off. They might do ok this year, but I never expect them to really shine for at least a year or two. When thinking of adding something to your garden, also remember the projected full size of what you planted. For example, we just populated a new flower bed at our house. We got everything planted, but to look at it now, it’s a little underwhelming and we are tempted to go back to the nursery to get some additional plants to fill in. But we need to remember that the Rose of Sharon that we planted that is just about 2 feet tall right now but will likely be 8 feet tall and wide in a few years. It just takes patience.

However, if you do need to fill in some holes, consider ornamental grasses. Ornamental grasses don’t always make in onto the shopping list. But many of them offer not only a lot of bang for your buck since many of the can get sizable, but they will still be interesting in the winter when many of our plants have lost all their foliage. Here’s some ornamental grasses to consider for your home landscape.

Melinis - Ruby Grass - Savanah

This ornamental grass grows to a height of almost two feet and 8 - 10 inches in width. One of the standout features of this grass is the pink/purple flowers that arch out from the plant on its narrow blue-green foliage. During the season, its 4-inch-long flowers slowly fade in color from the pink/purple to shades of pink, to a pale creamy white toward the end of the summer. Cuttings from this plant can also be brought indoors as part of a collection of flowers from your garden. It is an annual that prefers well-drained soil and will tolerate occasional drought conditions.

 Lagurus - Bunny Tails

This ornamental grass starts by growing a lovely green foliage, but then as summer arrives, it reveals beautiful little white puffs that are hard to resist touching. They do well in containers or planted together to provide a focal point in your garden. Many people purchase these plants initially on a whim because they thought they looked cute at the nursery, but then they become a yearly staple in their garden. You can expect them to grow to about 16” tall and a foot wide. It does require full sun and well drained soils. It is classified as a hardy annual which means that it can come back if it doesn’t get too cold, but don’t count on it.

Pennisetum - Rubrum (Purple Fountain)

This one will be a standout in any garden due to its size and color. It’s 3 - 4-foot-long blades have a beautiful red cast with stalks that support sizable flowers of purple/pink. These flowers can reach up to 12” in length and show from early summer to frost. It’s hardy in zones 9-11 so it would be considered an annual here, but it is well worth it due to it’s size and beautiful color in my book.

Isolepsis Live Wire – Fiber Optic Grass

This one is a member of the Sedge family. The name Fiber Optic Grass comes from the fact that its form reminds many of us of those toys that have a base containing batteries with the fiber optic strands that shoot straight up and out like a crazy broom. Fiber Optic Grass is great for containers since they will tend to grow enough to hide the top of the container. It does great in sun with lots of water but will do even better with a little shade. This annual grass will grow to 6 - 8 inches in height and 18-20 inched in width.

Festina Blue Fescue

Most of us are familiar with fescue as a turf grass, but this ornamental fescue makes a great accent plant for your garden. One reason for this it the grassy leaves are steel blue in color. This evergreen ornamental grass grows into a nice, neat, mounded habit of blue grass that will produce pale green grassy flowers in late summer. It is drought tolerant, so it makes a good choice for dry or xeriscape gardens. You can expect it to grow to about 12-18 inches by 10-15 inches. It likes the sun, but a little shade wouldn’t hurt.

There are a variety of grasses to choose from at your favorite garden center. Good luck!

You can get answers to all your gardening questions by calling the Tulsa Master Gardeners Help Line at 918-746-3701, dropping by our Diagnostic Center at 4116 E. 15th Street, or by emailing us at mg@tulsamastergardeners.org.