Top 12 Beautiful Grass Types Perfect for Southern California Yards
Blue Fescue Grass:Blue fescue grows in mounded clumps of semi-evergreen silvery blue blades. In the summer you’ll discover greenish flowers with a touch of purple rising above the clumps.
Sea Oats Grass:This grass is notable for the nodding seed heads that cluster on the ends of arching stems in summer. They remind people of oats and ripple in even the slightest breeze.
Feather Reed Grass: Many cultivars grow from 2 to 6 feet tall with a 1.5-to-2-foot spread. Most do best in full sun, though there are some such as C. brachytrica that can thrive in part shade.
Little Bluestem:Little bluestem is also easy to maintain and has a great range of hardiness zones in which it can thrive. You can grow little bluestem from zones 3 to 9 in full sun, and it grows from 2 to 4 feet high with a 1.5-to-2-foot spread.
Switch Grass:Switch grass grows in clumps that are from 3 to 6 feet tall and 2 to 3 feet wide. Clouds of pinkish flowers arrive from July into February, and they are excellent for flower arrangements.
Hakone Grass:Once found only in Japan, this grass thrives in hardiness zones 5 to 9. It’s a shade-loving plant, and some cultivars take on a more golden hue in the sun and a more chartreuse color in the shade.
Miscanthus:Giant miscanthus grass can grow to 25 feet and can be used as a privacy screen. Smaller cultivars grow from 3 to 7 feet. M. sinensis, called eulalia or Chinese silver grass grows best in zones 5 to 9 and grows well in partial shade or full sun.
Feathergrass: feathergrass can be grown as an annual, and at 1 to 2 feet high and 1 to 2 feet wide, it’s also a good ground cover. The flowers appear from June to September.
Ruby Grass:The leaves themselves turn purple in the fall. Thriving in full sun, ruby grass grows to about 2 feet tall and has a 0.75-to-1.5-foot spread.
Fountain Grass: The leaves of some cultivars bear white, green, or burgundy stripes, with the leaves and plumes turning reddish violet in the winter.
Pink Muhly Grass:The grass likes full sun to part shade in hardiness zones 5 to 9. It’s easy to care for and does well in dry to medium soil. Indeed, Muhly grass is just the thing for areas of poor soil.
Prairie Grass: Bronze-gold flowers that contrast beautifully with dark blades appear from late September to February. This is a grass that gives winter interest to a garden.