Nothing says fall in the garden more than the sight of ornamental grasses pluming. It goes right along with all other things that signal the season change—the kids going back to school, pumpkin spice everything, and turning the heat on for the first time. Gardeners seem to have a love/hate relationship with ornamental grasses. They have great texture, they give life to the late-season landscape, and many are native to North America. But, some spread like noxious weeds, become invasive, or are maintenance nightmares that need frequent division. In this episode we discuss some of our favorites from this category of plants—grasses that are stunning in three seasons (if not four) and don’t require a plethora of care to look their best. We even talk about a few newbie grasses that you might not have heard of before!

Expert testimony: Paul Zammit lives and gardens in Toronto’s West End, and is a professor of horticulture at Niagara College in Southern Ontario.