Grasses, General

When I think of  "grasses"  I think of the large ornamental specimen placed near the edge of the yard's property line or by the driveway to the house.  Many people probably immediately think of the green stuff in their front yard. We are both right from our own perspective but when shopping for "grass" it is good to refer to the grass in your yard as "turf" and the decorative grass as "ornamental grass".
The term "ornamental grass" refers to what is both true grasses, close relatives and grass like plants. As I am not interested in complex botany I will use the term "ornamental grass" to  share about grasses that are used chiefly for ornamental purpose in the garden setting;  true grass and grass like plants.
Briefly ornamental grasses are either classified as warm season or cool season grasses.  Warm season grasses liking of course warm weather, just like me! These grasses thrive in temperatures between 80 and 95 degrees. They grow vigorously, until the fall when they flower and begin a period of dormancy. Like the trees of fall the grass will turn color, the color depending on the particular plant, as it continues on to dormancy. With complete dormancy in the winter the grass will turn tan, wheat, or white and become dry. The foliage will usually stay throughout the winter adding interest to the garden. In spring new growth begins and the cycle continues.
Cool season grasses like temperatures between 60 and 75 degrees and require more moisture than warm season grasses. They begin new growth in the fall or very early spring. The leaves of the cool season grass generally are evergreen and may be red, plum or purple in the winter. These colors will fade as the warm weather takes over. New growths begins again in the fall and the cycle continues.