6 Ornamental Grasses Birds Love for Food and Shelter

1. Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum)

Needs: Moist to dry soil, full sun.
Bird benefits: Seeds feed them; dense foliage provides winter cover.
Gardener benefits: Vigorous, reddish-purple summer color fading to tan in fall. Some varieties reseed aggressively — mulch 3 inches to contain.
Zones: 5-9 | Size: 3-7 ft tall, 2-4 ft wide

2. Blue Fescue (Festuca glauca)

Needs: Well-drained soil, full sun.
Bird benefits: Seeds feed; foliage provides nesting material.
Gardener benefits: Mound-forming, semi-evergreen with striking blue-green foliage. Drought-tolerant for low-water landscapes.
Zones: 4-8 | Size: 6-18 in tall, 12-24 in wide

3. Little Bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium)

Needs: Well-drained soil, full sun.
Bird benefits: Seeds feed; foliage provides cover.
Gardener benefits: Drought-tolerant, slowly spreading — good for naturalized areas and erosion control. Showy blooms for cut flowers. Blue-green foliage turns dark red-purple in fall, tan in winter.
Zones: 5-9 | Size: 2-3 ft tall, 1-2 ft wide

4. Canadian Wild Rye (Elymus canadensis)

Needs: Full sun; any soil, dry or moist.
Bird benefits: Seeds feed; foliage provides nesting materials.
Gardener benefits: Fastest-growing prairie grass, matures from seed in 1-2 years. Suits tough sites (sand, clay). Beautiful drooping seed heads.
Zones: 3-8 | Size: 4-6 ft tall, 24 in wide

5. Indiangrass (Sorghastrum nutans)

Needs: Well-drained or moist soil, full sun.
Bird benefits: Seeds favored by songbirds; foliage provides cover.
Gardener benefits: Dark orange-purple fall foliage lights up garden. Brown flowers late summer. Upright habit makes good screen; dense roots hinder erosion.
Zones: 5-8 | Size: 4-6 ft tall, 2-3 ft wide

6. Tufted Hairgrass (Deschampsia cespitosa)

Needs: Moist soil, full or part shade.
Bird benefits: Seeds feed; foliage provides nesting material.
Gardener benefits: Arching dark green leaves create waterfall appearance in mixed borders. Large colorful flowers May-August. Excellent for part-shade.
Zones: 5-9 | Size: 2-3 ft tall, 2-3 ft wide