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Photo Credit: Gerald Klingaman

Maiden grass is a great selection for screening out undesirable views and noise.

While grasses come in a bewildering array of shapes and sizes, one of the most popular is maiden grass (Miscanthus sinensis), which truly makes a wonderfully bold statement in fall gardens. This tough, clump-forming grass has slender, half-inch wide leaves that gracefully arch from the ground. In autumn, it sends up a silvery, feathery tassel that turns tan and simply waves about in the breeze above the clump.

For me, one of the best parts of the grass is that the clump expands every year. In fact, the row of ‘Gracillimus’ I planted 10 years ago is now about 3 feet wide at the base and 6 feet tall in flower, effectively obscuring the parking space for my old junker.

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Photo Credit: Gerald Klingaman

If you need something smaller for your garden, consider a dwarf selection like ‘Yaku Jima’, which only reaches about 4 feet tall when it blooms in summer.

Of course, the ultimate height of the plant depends on the type of Miscanthus you select. There are now more than 40 cultivars of maiden grass in the nursery trade, so make sure you know the characteristics of the one you choose. ‘Nippon’, for example, is a dwarf form with 2- to 3-foot-tall foliage and flowers topping out at 4 feet. M. × giganteus and M.floridulus are two species that grow straight up to 10 feet. (I’ve often fantasized about making a corn maze using these beauties.)

Perhaps the most popular of the maiden grasses are the variegated types. My favorite of these is a thin-leafed, 4-foot-tall, delicate form called ‘Morning Light’. It has a thin, white strip on the leaf margin that’s easy to miss because the leaf itself is so narrow. Plant this where it can be backlit by the morning sun for a remarkable effect.