It is challenging to compose a dedicated grass garden. I grow a lot of grasses and through trial and error I found that repeating lot of the same kind of grass planted in masses or blocks is much nicer than several different singular specimens growing together.

The panicum grasses look good in groups or as isolated specimens and are fantastic in a mass planting with smaller grass such as little bluestem massed in front. Simple is best. There are several municipal plantings utilizing mainly grasses and they all follow the rule of massing for simple compositions, the results are spectacular. One kind of grass planted in a mass looks wonderful, the plants all swaying in unison in the wind blowing the same direction has a natural look and hypnotizing rhythm.

Color and form are both good ways to separate and define. The more contrast the better because otherwise it becomes an undefined messy green area that looks overgrown and haphazard.

Large rocks and raised berms are a good if you can do that. I've seen grasses growing in that situation and it looks very nice.

I've been working to mass areas with all the same kind in different areas but I have several non grass plants along with the grasses for diversity. I've been culling some out to have spots that are mostly one kind grass to simplify.

Anyway, its hard to advise without seeing your area, knowing the size and how many of each of the different varieties you listed-- one of each or several planted together? I am sticking mainly to prairie grasses because I live in Oklahoma and have removed the lawn to create a mostly lower growing shortgrass prairie. I get more plants from seedlings and its been an ongoing work in progress. You learn very quickly what doesn't look good together. I make a lot of use of what I call low growing filler grasses and keep the specimen types to a minimum and carefully placed for drama. The lower growing ones set off the larger specimen types, I grow them lean in unimproved well draining soil so I don't have overgrown flopping grasses.

Thank you very much for your detailed response. I will take some time to ponder all your suggestions. I agree that simple is usually best. I tend to have a difficult time in limiting choices; I'm a one of everything kind of gardener even though I know that is not the best option. Being a prairie gardener I've longed wanted a garden that focuses on prairie grasses and plants so hope I can achieve that at least in a small way. Thanks again.

"Color and form are both good ways to separate and define. The more contrast the better because otherwise it becomes an undefined messy green area that looks overgrown and haphazard."

I am starting to understand the wisdom in this more and more.

My hell strip is a big green mess at the moment (got another 1.5 inches of rain last night). It looked great when the grasses were smaller earlier in the year, with first the spiderwort and then the butterflyweed in bloom. Now most of that flowering is done and everything looks pretty much the same green.

I had gradually moving from my original plan that had only one grass, prairie dropseed, to one with a number of other things mixed in, but now I am starting to rethink it. Especially the sideoats grama, which was great last year, has been a floppy mess with all the rain. Its green is a little lighter, but not strikingly so, and there's very little contrast in form with the dropseed. I'm considering pulling all of that out (possibly moving it to the back yard), as well as some of the prairie dropseed plants where they are so close together.

I've been very happy with P. virgatum 'Cheyenne Sky' with its more vertical form and reddish colors, so I might expand from three scattered indviduals to a larger drift. My only concern is that it might eventually exceed the advertised 36" height and become a visibility problem.

Sounds like they are planted too close together woods tea. I've had the same problem and some selective thinning can add needed definition. The first time I did that it was with large grasses like deergrass if you can imagine those growing too close together up front. Now I use more smaller grasses and save those big ones for special spots.

On my walk this evening I went down by the stream in the park and there is a mostly wild grassy area with some wildflowers coming up, the grass is dense. Its got areas of some kind of short fine light colored grass and then some deeper green thicker bladed stuff with rather nice seed heads actually, the variety of height and color are kind of nice but the thing that makes it really makes it nice are the many big chunks of concrete that lay about. They are the same as the chunks lining the edge all along the sloping side to prevent erosion. The grassy area is sort of like a large sandbar. The chunks of rough concrete defines the area and the grasses look good growing around them. Now if those were rocks rather than concrete, they'd really have something. These aren't real huge rocks, they would be liftable sizes with the aid of a dolly.

I now know where I am throwing some native wildflower seeds this fall. Some annual gaillardia, rudbeckia, helenium, horsemint and perennial liatris would look quite nice coming up in there. There were some clumps of plains coreopsis coming up, I have that in my Hell Strip and like it among grasses but its fairly short blooming.

My situation is just the opposite of yours, I planted too many native plants and not enough grasses. Thats changing and I'm seeing some good results this year. Several of the little bluestem plants are already putting up seed stalks. Must be all the rain. I've redone grass compositions so many times I figure someday I will finally get it right.

My virgatums all exceed that height except the ones on the west side where its very dry, high and the ground is hard to deal with due to tree roots. Last year they came up to my chest. Even rothsthalsbusch (selling?) that is supposed to be short was taller than 36". More like just over 4ft.