Name: The Plant Company
Address: 284 Meeanee Road, Meeanee, Napier, 4112, New Zealand
Telephone: 0800 843 752
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best ornamental grasses nz

Looking to elevate your New Zealand garden? The best ornamental grasses NZ has to offer provide year-round structure, movement, and contrast to any landscape. These versatile and low-maintenance plants are ideal for mass planting, borders, groundcovers, and even containers. Whether you love the modern look of strappy foliage or prefer feathery mounds that catch the wind, ornamental grasses bring beautiful texture and form to urban courtyards, coastal gardens, and rural properties alike. Read on to discover top choices for New Zealand conditions and how to incorporate them into your outdoor design.

Lomandra White Sands

Lomandra White Sands is a fabulous ornamental grass renowned for its variegated foliage. It features arching, cream, and green-striped leaves and forms tidy clumps approximately 50–60 cm tall and wide. Thriving in full sun to partial shade, this low-maintenance plant is highly tolerant of drought, frost, wind, and coastal conditions. Ideal for mass plantings, borders, containers, and around outdoor living areas, Lomandra White Sands adds year-round texture and colour to a garden.

Buy Lomandra White Sands

From $25.58

Suited to regions: All regions

Plant type: Grasses

Height: 50 cm

Spread: 45 cm

Flowering time: Spring

Tolerances: Coastal, Hardy

Garden uses: Banks, Borders, Containers, Living areas, Parks, Paths & Steps, Patios, Ponds, Pool areas, Specimen

Garden styles: Alpine, Architectural, Backyard, City & Courtyard, Coastal, Frontyard, Japanese, Modern

Lomandra Misty Green

Lomandra Misty Green is an ornamental grass with delicate, dark green foliage and a tidy, rounded form. Growing to about 40 cm in height and width, it thrives in full sun to partial shade and is highly tolerant of drought, frost, wind, and coastal conditions. This low-maintenance plant is ideal for borders, mass plantings, containers, and around outdoor living areas, adding year-round texture and colour to gardens.

Buy Lomandra Misty Green

From $20.93

Suited to regions: All regions

Plant type: Grasses

Height: 40 cm

Spread: 40 cm

Flowering time: Spring

Tolerances: Coastal, Extended dry periods, Hardy, Wind

Garden uses: Banks, Borders, Containers, Living areas, Paths & Steps, Pool areas

Garden styles: Alpine, Architectural, Backyard, City & Courtyard, Coastal, Frontyard, Japanese, Mediterranean, Modern

Why Choose Ornamental Grasses for Your NZ Garden?

Ornamental grasses have become increasingly popular in New Zealand for their hardiness, adaptability, and stunning visual impact. These grasses thrive in a variety of soil and climate conditions, from sun-baked slopes to shaded corners. They tolerate wind, require minimal care, and retain their shape throughout the seasons—making them a favourite for busy gardeners. Ornamental grasses also support NZ wildlife, providing shelter and food for native birds and beneficial insects.

Top Picks: Best Ornamental Grasses NZ

When it comes to the best ornamental grasses NZ home gardeners can grow, several standout varieties consistently impress with their performance and looks:

Lomandra White Sands

Lomandra White Sands is prized for its fine, blue-green foliage edged in creamy white. This resilient grass forms neat tussocks, creating soft symmetry in borders, mass plantings, or containers. Lomandra is drought and frost tolerant, ideal for exposed NZ sites.

Lomandra Misty Green

The delicate, fine leaves of Lomandra Misty Green bring a gentle, cloud-like quality to gardens. This variety excels in coastal and urban environments, adding a lush, evergreen accent with minimal maintenance. Plant in drifts for modern texture or use alongside natives.

Lomandra Nyalla

For wind-prone or coastal gardens, Lomandra Nyalla delivers outstanding toughness. Its strappy leaves and dense growth habit make it perfect for erosion control and as a striking accent plant. It also flourishes in clay or sandy soils—an excellent choice for challenging NZ sites.

Carex flagellifera Green

If you prefer native charm, Carex flagellifera Green is a top pick. With its arching, vibrant green foliage, Carex is wonderful for naturalistic planting schemes, stream banks, or mixed borders. This NZ native grass is low-care and wildlife-friendly.

Lomandra Evergreen Baby

Compact gardens or pots can benefit from Lomandra Evergreen Baby, a dwarf variety with evergreen, strappy leaves. It’s an ideal solution for edging pathways or softening hard landscaping while staying neat and tidy year-round.

How to Use Ornamental Grasses in Your Landscape

The best ornamental grasses NZ gardeners enjoy are endlessly versatile. Try mass planting Lomandra for easy-care groundcover, mixing Carex with flax or native shrubs for naturalistic effects, or use dwarf varieties to edge paths and highlight feature trees. Ornamental grasses bring movement, catch morning dewdrops, and sway elegantly in the wind—effortlessly connecting your garden to New Zealand’s larger landscape.

Ready to transform your garden with the best ornamental grasses NZ has to offer? Explore our curated collection and choose hardy species, from Lomandra White Sands to Carex flagellifera Green, for long-lasting beauty in every season.

Contact us

Whether you need assistance finding the plant you’re looking for or you simply want to know more about who we are and what we do, we invite you to get in touch with us today. A member of The Plant Company team will get back in touch as soon as possible.