Each year as fall gives way to winter I realize why I think that ornamental grasses play an important role in any landscape. I am not suggesting that now is an appropriate time to plant grasses.

Most of our ornamental grasses are considered warm season grasses. Although they strut their stuff now, they grow primarily during the hottest part of the season. My recommended planting window for best success is from late May into August.

The grasses are showiest when they are sited so that they are backlit. In other words, look toward the sun through the grass. On numerous occasions I have located grasses so that I walked toward the sun as I left in the morning and walked toward the sun as I returned in the evenings.

Miscanthus, or the plume grasses, may be losing a bit of their dominance in the garden as people discover the wide selection of grasses available. There are dozens of selections of Miscanthus giving us a spectrum of heights, blade width and blade coloration.

In general, Miscanthus can become a bit floppy with age. Planting in your poorer soil and severe reduction or elimination of fertilizer and water can minimize this.

Of this group, my favorite is one called Miscanthus purpuresans or flame grass. It grows just past my waist, expands more slowly, sports a very white plume and the blades turn a brilliant red in the fall. I have never seen this one flop and I have one that is eight or ten years old.

Rapidly gaining in popularity are the native grasses. Little Bluestem which has a Latin name about a foot long beginning with an S (editor's note Schizochrium) is a highlight in my garden. It should approach my waist but it hasn't yet. The plume is interesting, resembling a crow's foot, and the blue blades fade to a blue-tan in cooler weather.

There is also a Big Bluestem and Indian Grass in the collection of native prairie grasses in the marketplace.

Another native are the panicums or frost grasses. I think you can visualize a very airy seed head on a frosty morning backlit by the sun. They can be spectacular. 'Heavy Metal' with a bluish cast was the first on the market. It has been joined by a number of taller cultivars. They seem a bit more vigorous, too.

I'm looking for spots to try some of the larger ones. There is some fear that the larger ones may flop if treated too well.

Another favored group are the pennisetums. They are the foxtail grasses, which some people refuse to consider because we fight a very common annual weedy grass from this family. I especially like the variations of Pennisetum orientile available.

I can't forget Calamagrostis 'Karl Foerster' or the other feather reed grasses available. 'Karl Foerster' is the most widely planted grass we have. It forms a tight clump and offers an early summer plume. Ten-year specimens are still less than 18 inches in diameter in my garden.

The very popular short blue fescue cultivars are a bit touchier than you might expect. They will not tolerate overly rich soil and must have excellent drainage. For best color move them out of the full afternoon sun. I learned that slowly the hard way.

This ramble could continue since there are many others I could mention, but my suggestion is to look around now. Identify a few that you like, then plant next summer to enhance your fall garden for many years.