What Hydrangeas To Pair With Popular Ornamental Grasses
Written by: Lindsey Griffith
Ornamental grasses add texture, movement, and multi-season interest to the landscape. These versatile perennials come back year after year, making them great for massing along hedges or underplanting with shrubs like hydrangeas. While ornamental grasses and hydrangeas look great planted together, some combinations look especially fabulous. Here, we'll discuss which hydrangeas pair best with popular perennial grasses.
The upright, narrow habit of 'Karl Foerster' feather reed grass adds nice structure to hydrangea gardens. The beige flower plumes also compliment the large green flower panicles from 'Limelight' hydrangea beautifully, working together to add texture to the landscape into the fall and winter.
Plant ‘Evergold’ sedge to add low-maintenance texture at the base of hydrangea shrubs, or spliced between other perennials in mixed garden beds.
Create a monochromatic moment in the landscape when you pair the pink plumes from 'Karley Rose' fountain grass with Fire Light® panicle hydrangea! The weeping flowers of this ornamental grass add color at the base of this larger hydrangea variety, which reaches 6-8 ft tall.
Pennsylvania sedge adds a carpet of crisp green blades to the landscape and makes great walkable ground cover for underplanting with shrubs and trees. Since its shade-tolerant, it pairs well with oakleaf hydrangeas, especially in woodland gardens or shady hedges.
The airy, wispy plumes from 'Hameln' fountain grass are a striking contrast to the bold, round blooms from Let's Dance Sky View® bigleaf hydrangea. This grass is a bit larger than this hydrangea, so it's great for adding height behind this bodacious shrub.