Now is the time when you should cut down your ornamental grasses. You have wisely left them to stand all winter to enjoy  their movement in the wind and have admired the frost crystals that those cold mornings produced on the fine stalks. The dead stalks look out of place now compared to all the fresh green growth in the garden and it is time to clear those stalks away to allow the new grass stems to grow up freely.

Calamagrostis acutiflora 'Karl Foerster' is still one of my favorite grasses to use in the gardens that I design. It has a big presence with it's tall habit but as it is so perfectly vertical it hardly takes up any space in a mixed planting. I have seen Calamagrostis, commonly known as Feather Reed Grass, planted in a row at the back of a perennial bed that created quite a striking contrast to the bright flowers. I like winding a planting of Calamagrostis through a mixed perennial bed to create some interested movement through the flowers.

Stipa gigantea is another big grass but as it is feathery and light it doesn't seem to dominate a space like the big Miscanthus can do. I have planted this on the corner of a garden bed so the oat-like flower heads dance over a patio breaking into the hardscape zone to blur the boundaries of the garden.

Grasses have proven to be such a reliable addition to every landscape design that new varieties are grown all the time. There are many compact versions available for the smaller garden. I really like the dwarf miscanthus as they have the same exuberant foliage and flowers but without the giant size that the big versions can grow into. Miscanthus 'Yakushima Dwarf' is one I have used in a seaside garden under some windows that we wanted to maintain a view from. It worked well as the foliage and emerging flowers really softened the metal window ledge and framed the view nicely from inside.