Grasses for Landscaping

How to choose landscaping grasses

Sort the collection into three working groups and the choice gets simple. The native strappy plants, lomandra and dianella above all, are the workhorses: evergreen, drought hardy once established, happy on verges, banks and baking western aspects where little else persists. The true ornamental grasses, fountain grass and blue fescue among them, bring movement and seed heads and earn feature positions where light catches them. The shade fillers, mondo grass and liriope, tolerate dry root filled ground under established trees, which is some of the hardest real estate in any garden. Kangaroo paws sit apart as flowering accents rather than fillers, planted in threes and fives for months of colour.

Where they work in Australian gardens

Grasses are climate flexible in a way few plant groups are. Lomandra and dianella handle everything from the tropics to frosty inland gardens, which is why councils plant them by the thousand. Fountain grass performs in warm and temperate zones but browns off after frost, returning in spring. Mondo and liriope suit shaded courtyards nationwide. For coastal gardens, lomandra and westringia companions cope with salt wind where soft leaved grasses burn. On slopes, lomandra is the honest answer to erosion: its deep fibrous roots knit banks together and it never needs mowing. Many of these are also Australian natives, so they support local birds and insects while asking almost nothing in return.

Spacing and how many to buy

• Lomandra and dianella: 50cm to 60cm centres, about 3 to 4 plants per square metre, or one per metre as an edging row.
• Liriope: 25cm to 30cm centres, roughly 10 plants per square metre for solid cover within two seasons.
• Mondo grass: 15cm to 20cm centres, 25 or more per square metre. Slow but permanent.
• Fountain grass and other clumpers: 80cm to 1m apart so each clump reads as its own fountain.

For big areas, buy tubestock. Tubes cost a fraction of potted stock, establish quickly, and a mass planting closes over within 12 to 18 months. They also pair well planted as a skirt in front of a hedge from our best hedging plants, hiding the bare lower stems.

Care basics

Water new plantings deeply once or twice a week for the first 8 to 12 weeks, then most of this collection looks after itself. Feed lightly in spring, using a low phosphorus native fertiliser for lomandra, dianella and kangaroo paw. Maintenance is one job a year: cut deciduous ornamental grasses back to about 10cm in late winter before new growth, and rake or comb dead leaves out of evergreen clumps. Lomandra can be cut back hard to 15cm every three or four years in late winter to renew a tired clump. Mondo needs nothing at all.

Common questions

Should I cut my grasses back, and when?

Cut back grasses that brown off, such as fountain grass, in late winter. Evergreen strappy plants like lomandra only need a tidy up, with a hard renewal cut every few years. Never shear mondo or liriope; just remove spent leaves.

Will any of these grow in full shade?

Mondo grass and liriope are the reliable choices under trees and on the south side of buildings. Lomandra tolerates part shade but thins out in deep shade, and flowering choices like kangaroo paw need sun to perform.

Do ornamental grasses die off in winter?

Some go dormant. Fountain grass browns after frost and shoots away again in spring, which is normal. Lomandra, dianella, mondo and liriope stay green year round in almost all Australian climates.

How fast will a mass planting fill in?

At the spacings above, lomandra and dianella plantings look established in 12 to 18 months, liriope in about two seasons, and mondo in two to three years. Planting tighter speeds the effect but raises the bill quickly, and these are among the fast growing plants that genuinely reward patience.