What Is the New Perennial Movement?
Swaths of billowing, blooming herbaceous perennials interlaced with arching grasses swaying in the breeze. Carefully curated plant communities, growing seamlessly into rich tapestries that change with the seasons. Soothing color combinations and tactile textures that beckon you to meander through a carefully cut path, easing your stress as you relish the rich, naturalistic plantings.
Naturalist Planting
If you’ve ever visited The High Line in New York City or The Lurie Garden in Chicago, you’ve experienced the naturalistic planting style of the New Perennial Movement, made famous by designer Piet Oudolf. Known for creating gardens that both mimic nature while also embracing ecology, the New Perennial Movement celebrates plants throughout each stage of their lifeline, appreciating the changing gardenscape throughout the year, with no rush to chop or tidy in fall.
Beauty for All Seasons
Instead, the New Perennial Movement garden encourages us to find beauty not only in the abundantly flowering summerscape but also in skeletal, textural, muted scenes of winter. And while the garden space is beautifully designed to mix plants that respond well to their specific environment and ground conditions, planting tightly to reduce weed growth, it also focuses on providing a living habitat to support insects, pollinators, and birds.
The New Perennial Movement gives the impression that the space occurred naturally. However, every plant is carefully considered and planted with intention.
How Can You Incorporate the New Perennial Movement in Your Garden?
A well-planned garden contains an array of plants that provide structure, texture, color, fragrance, and flowers. The New Perennial Movement takes these goals a step further by extensively planning which grasses and perennial flower varieties will happily co-exist, requiring little intervention to thrive and look their best.
Planning includes the seasonality of the plants, ensuring an ongoing, rich, diversity of blooms, texture, and color to keep the garden looking lovely throughout all the seasons.
While emphasis on the beauty of the landscape is key, the New Perennial Movement focuses on providing an ecological sanctuary for wildlife. The plants should offer a wide range of food, shelter, and nesting sites for small birds, insects, mammals, and invertebrates, while also providing a pleasing aesthetic.
If you’re ready to embrace the New Perennial Movement, here are a few tips to get you started:
- Local, native plants often provide the easiest, most successful planting combinations. By selecting plants native to your area, you’ll know that these selections—and their newer cultivars—thrive in your local soil and climate.
- Choosing native plants means fewer chemical interactions to keep them healthy and thriving. After all, the planting is designed to benefit wildlife, and the birds and bees appreciate chemical-free dining.
- Grasses typically comprise 50 to 60 percent of the planting area. Plant grasses in large groups. If you’re growing in a smaller space, select shorter, more compact grasses—but still plant them in masses.
- Choose perennial flowers like echinacea, echinops, veronica, and calamintha. Plant flowering perennials in large drifts of five to nine plants between the grasses. Whichever flowering perennials you choose, select the plants for multi-season interest: great blooms, vibrant color, unique seed heads, and textural winter interest. Find new perennials from our National Garden Bureau members here.
- Plant densely to avoid bare soil. Use the plants as living mulch to crowd out weeds.
- Create a path through the planting that allows you to closely observe the garden and the wildlife it attracts. Not only does a New Perennial Movement design encourage a beautiful landscape, the garden offers therapeutic qualities as well. Take time to meander through the plants and reflect on the natural seasonal cycles.
New Grasses
Because more than half of the design incorporates grasses and sedges, take a look at the assortment of grass and sedge plants available from National Garden Bureau members—native varieties and cultivars that offer vibrant color, good disease resistance, and beauty for your garden, as well as newer space-saving compact and dwarf varieties.
The New Perennial Movement gives the impression that the space occurred naturally. However, every plant is carefully considered and planted with intention.
Fountain Grass
‘Water to Wine’ Fountain Grass
(Pennisetum alopecuroides)
Black flowers emerge from bright green foliage in the summer. Sturdy, bottle brush-like flowers add a nice cinnamon color all season. As temperatures cool, foliage blushes red and purple and flowers turn tan. Flower and form hold through the winter months for structural interest. USDA Zone 5-9. Height: 24 to 36 inches.
Dwarf Fountain Grass
(Pennisetum alopecuroides)
Dwarf ornamental fountain grass with dense tufts of finely textured foliage and fuzzy flower spikes in late summer. In the fall, the foliage turns a golden russet color. Good for edging and low borders, attractive with summer perennials. USDA Zone 4-11. Height: 24 inches.
Red Bunny Tails Fountain Grass
(Pennisetum messiacum)
Graceful flower plumes highlight burgundy-green foliage on this heat tolerant grass. Deadheading is not necessary for a pretty show in the garden. USDA Zone 7 to 11. Height: 18 to 36 inches tall.
Lemon Squeeze Fountain Grass
(Pennisetum alopecuroides)
A brilliantly colored ornamental grass with chartreuse gold leaves that’s perfect for contrast. Copper panicles appear above the foliage in midsummer and provide additional interest to this three-seasons grass. USDA Zones 5-9. Height: 36+ inches.
Make sure to check the USDA hardiness zone range of the grasses, sedges, and herbaceous perennials you’re considering.
The point of the New Perennial Movement is to create a low-maintenance, beautiful, ecologically beneficial landscape, and you want to ensure that your selected plants will survive and thrive in your hardiness zone.
Maiden Grass
Miscanthus MYSTAL™ Gentle Breeze
(Miscanthus sinensis)
Super fine silvery-green foliage emerges green in spring, silvering with age. Elegant fine red highlights appear in August. Abundant silky, silvery-white flower heads appear July through October and look lovely when left uncut through the winter months. USDA Zone 4-9. Height: 12 to 18 inches.
Morning Light Grass
(Miscanthus sinensis)
Award-winning ornamental grass with a graceful habit and delicately striped leaves. Blooms in late summer and provides winter interest. Deadheading isn’t necessary. Good for locations near the ocean, as the plant tolerates salt. Attracts birds. Deer resistant. USDA Zone 5 to 9. Height: 4 to 5 feet.
Porcupine Grass
(Miscanthus sinensis)
Green foliage is highlighted by dramatic horizontal golden bands. Reddish bronze plumes rise above the foliage in summer. Works well for use as a single specimen or in groupings. USDA Zone 4-9. Height: 8 feet.
Switch Grass
Niagara Falls
(Panicum virgatum)
Great for filling space in the landscape, this native ornamental grass appears like a Miscanthus in the landscape with arching foliage but adds the powder-blue color characteristic of Switch Grass. In fall, sprays of cream seed heads pack the top of the plant. USDA Zone 4-9. Height: 3 to 4 feet
Northwind
(Panicum virgatum)
The wide, olive-green foliage makes for a strong vertical accent. This vigorous grower is topped in September with attractive narrow plumes, held incredibly erect atop the foliage. Height: 4 to 5 feet tall.
Shenandoah Red
(Panicum virgatum)
A favorite selection of native prairie grass with gorgeous, colorful leaves. New growth emerges green with red tips. Gradually, the entire plant turns a rich burgundy color. Airy blooms appear in midsummer, hazy clouds floating above the leaves. It’s a showstopper year-round, with seed heads providing an important food source for native wildlife during the winter. USDA Zone 4-9. Height: 36 to 48 inches.
Blue Grama Grass
Blonde Ambition
(Bouteloua gracillis)
A rugged, cold hardy native grass that features blue-green foliage and striking, flag-like summer flowers on stiff, weather-resistant stems. Provides cool-season interest, as the long-lasting blonde seed heads remain through winter. Deer and drought resistant. USDA Zone 4-9. Height: 3 feet tall.
Honeycomb
(Bouteloua gracillis)
With golden seedheads and attractive structure, Honeycomb has something to offer in every season. The flowerheads emerge in mid-summer and provide a beautiful look into winter. Pollinators are attracted to the unique blooms, and deer avoid this plant, making it a problem solver in the landscape. USDA Zone 4-9. Height: 24 to 30 inches.
Blue Grama
(Bouteloua gracillis)
Ideal for erosion control and drought-tolerant, this pretty grass also attracts wildlife. USDA Zone 3-10. Height: 6 to 24 inches.
While masses of grasses make a beautiful display in perennial landscapes, some grasses may be listed as invasive in different parts of the country.
Make sure to check with your local extension agent or refer to the USDA’s National Invasive Species Information website for a list of invasive grasses before planting.
Pampas Grass
Sun Stripe® Variegated
(Cortaderia selloana)
Sharp-edged green blades sport several lengthwise yellow stripes. Silvery-white plumes held on long stalks above the foliage highlight this clumping perennial grass in fall. This dwarf form is well-suited to smaller gardens and landscapes. Wind and drought tolerant. USDA Zone 7-11. Height: 4 to 6 feet.
Ivory Feathers® Dwarf
(Cortaderia selloana)
The long stalks of dramatic, creamy white plumes are held above the dense clump of green foliage. This perennial grass is wind and drought tolerant. A dwarf form, the grass is well-suited to smaller gardens and landscapes. USDA Zone 7-11. Height: 3 to 5 feet.
Pink
(Cortaderia selloana)
Enjoy fresh green foliage topped by long, thick dusty-pink plumes when you grow drought tolerant Pink Pampas Grass. These elegant ornamental grasses have “feather duster” plumes from late summer and throughout the fall. USDA Zone 7-10. Height: 80 inches.
Forest Grass
Golden Japanese
(Hakonechloa macra)
A graceful, colorful groundcover for shaded borders. Slender stems holding bright yellow leaves with thin green stripes create a tiny bamboo-like effect. Foliage becomes pink-tinged as the weather cools in autumn. Naturalizes well; clumps spread gently. USDA Zone 4-9. Height: 18 inches.
All Gold
(Hakonechloa macra)
A colorful groundcover for shady areas. Slender stems that hold bright golden yellow foliage. Excellent color and texture for mixed borders and mass plantings. Naturalizes well. USDA Zone 4-9. Height: 18 inches.
Aureola
(Hakonechloa macra)
Variegated but nearly all yellow, the leaf blades have narrow green stripes, mostly near the margins. The cascading habit in which most of the leaves arch in the same direction looks like a golden waterfall. USDA Zone 5-9. Height: 12 to 24 inches.
Japanese Silver Grass
Graziella
(Miscanthus sinensis)
Narrow green leaves form a large, arching mound of foliage which turns an orangey-red in autumn. The tiny white flowers appear in late summer and gradually turn into silvery white plumes, persisting throughout winter. USDA Zone 4-9. Height: 4 to 6 feet.
Red-Silver
(Miscanthus sinensis)
Produces outstanding red tones in both the foliage and the flowers. The plant forms a tall, arching mound of green foliage with red tints, and the large flowers show beautiful tones of pinkish-red in mid to late summer. The foliage turns a beautiful red in autumn. USDA Zone 4-9. Height: 5 to 7 feet.
Cabaret
(Miscanthus sinensis)
Rich green broad blades boast milky white stripes, adding drama to the landscape. Copper-colored plumes appear above the foliage in early fall, age to a cream color on stems that blush pink as they mature. USDA Zone 5-9. Height: 6 to 7 feet.
Feather Reed Grass
Karl Foerster
(Calamagrostis acutiflora)
Creates a dramatic garden show with tall, slender, vertical growth and feathery plumes of shifting bronze color that stay in place year-round. An early bloomer, ‘Karl Foerster’ is a cool season grass that grows most rapidly in the spring season and produces notably early blooms. USDA Zone 5-9. Height: 3 to 5 feet.
Overdam
(Calamagrostis acutiflora)
A variegated version of ‘Karl Foerster’, Overdam forms a clump of gently arching foliage with white stripes brightening its narrow green leaves. In summer, airy tufts of blooms blush earthy pink, standing on stiff upright stems. The form persists well into winter, giving this plant nearly year-round interest. USDA Zone 4-8. Height: 4 to 5 feet.
Korean
(Calamagrostis brachytricha)
Feathery, pink-tinged plumes appear atop tall stems, rising above the foliage of this showy ornamental grass, maturing in fall to light tan and cream. Seeds provide food for birds. USDA Zone 4-9. Height: 24 to 36 inches.
Muhly Grass
Pink
(Muhlenbergia capillaris)
All-around spectacular grass! Silky, 12″ inflorescences add gorgeous pink to reddish tones, textural splendour and breeze-driven movement to the garden. This native plant is not just beautiful—it’s easy to grow, drought resistant, and deer resistant, too. USDA Zone 6-10. Height: 24 to 36 inches.
White Cloud
(Muhlenbergia capillaris)
A stunning cultivar of muhly grass that thrives in heat and humidity. The large, airy seed heads create a misty cloud of creamy white rising above fine, blue-green foliage in early fall. USDA Zone 7-10. Height: 36 to 48 inches.
Regal Mist® Pink
(Muhlenbergia capillaris)
Its relatively small form, glossy green foliage, and airy pink-red flowers set this selection apart from others. Spectacular when massed in a meadow where plumes can be back-lit by the sun. USDA Zone 6-9. Height: 4 feet.
Bluestem Grass
Praire Blues
(Schizachyrium scoparium)
Selected for its vibrant color and compact growth, the fine leaf blades shine with a more intense blue color than most of the species. Late summer brings slender, deep-purple plumes atop the foliage for an added layer of color. In autumn, small, airy, silver-white seed heads glisten in the autumn sun, against foliage that shifts to a warm bronze-orange color. USDA Zone 3-9. Height: 36 to 40 inches.
Blue® Heaven
(Schizachyrium scoparium)
This little bluestem is distinguished by its upright habit, beautiful blue foliage and excellent fall color, in shades of red, burgundy and purple. Blooms in September with the purplish flowers forming seed in October. USDA Zone 3-9. Height: 4 to 5 feet.
The Blues
(Schizachyrium scoparium)
Incredible blue leaves through the summer become even more intense with the cool autumn weather, with some deep burgundy red tones appearing. USDA Zone 3-9. Height: 3 feet.
Spectacular Sedges
Bunny Blue®
(Carex laxiculmis)
A neat and well-behaved native Carex cultivar, showing off strappy foliage with beautiful, cool blue tones. Evergreen and naturalizing, it will slowly spread for a versatile groundcover or alternative lawn. Tolerates hot, dry shade. Deer Resistant. USDA Zone 5-9. Height: less than 12 inches
Feather Falls™
(Carex hybrid)
An elegant addition to any planting, thanks to its airy texture and long, sweeping, variegated evergreen foliage. Easy to grow and low maintenance, this native cultivar grows vigorously and features improved heat and sun tolerance. USDA Zone 6-9. Height: 12 to 18 inches
Moon Falls
(Carex x hybrida)
A stunning new variety with an impressive size and rapid growth rate. Moon Falls resembles the much-admired Evergold, but it’s more than just a larger version. It surpasses its predecessor not only in size but also in growth speed. USDA Zone 5-9. Height: 12 to 18 inches.
Fox Red
(Carex buchananii)
Striking clumps of reddish-bronze foliage fades to flax at the tips, giving off a warm glow when back-lit by the sun. This versatile sedge thrives in damp areas around ponds and water gardens yet can tolerate dry spells, when established. USDA Zone 5-9. Height: 24 to 36 inches.
Are you ready to embrace the New Perennial Movement in your landscape?
With careful planning and perfectly paired flowering perennials, grasses, and sedges, you’ll enjoy a gorgeous, sweeping display of color, texture, and movement—while benefitting wildlife– throughout the year.
Do you know that National Garden Bureau members include the most innovative breeders and distributors of hardy hibiscus seeds and plants? If you want to grow beautifully blooming hardy hibiscus, check out the varieties available from National Garden Bureau members.
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2 Comments. Leave new
I also love grasses.
As a Master Gardener and Docent at Desert Botanical, we do not promote using any fountain grass in our desert gardens. The seeds travel everywhere and in many cases the fountain grasses contribute to rapid spread of desert fires too close homes and destroying natural desert succulents such as barrel and saguaro cactus!
Yes, that is why one of our beginners tips says “While masses of grasses make a beautiful display in perennial landscapes, some grasses may be listed as invasive in different parts of the country.
Make sure to check with your local extension agent or refer to the USDA’s National Invasive Species Information website for a list of invasive grasses before planting.” Everyone should be aware of their specific climate and area before planting.