Last winter while building a new seedling bed for rhododendrons and their friends, a 1000-gallon water storage tank got "bumped" with the tractor. It's side exploded nicely. Son Liam now has a pretty cool plastic playhouse.

It sits directly outside my dining room window.

I want to camouflage it with various heights and colors of ornamental grass. Husband Jon wants to hide it with, well, camouflage paint.

Let me make my case. There are both annual and perennial grasses that will grow in full sun. Some of the more popular annual grasses are red or purple fountain grass, Pennisetum setaceum. They won't come back next year, but make a great color accent in beds or containers with their dark red foliage.

Gaining in popularity are the low-growing fiber optic grass, Isolepsis, or ponytails grass, Stipa tenussima. With their fine textures they are great for fronts of beds or containers.

Perennial grasses come in two groups: cool season and warm season. Two of the most popular cool season grasses are Calamagrostis 'Karl Foerester' and Festuca glauca 'Elijah Blue'. They emerge from the ground early and then flower in June-July.

Warm season grasses such as Miscanthus, Panicum and Pennisetum 'Karley Rose', come up later, and bloom in the late summer. Their flower heads hold up through the winter for great seasonal interest.

I love to see snow or frost crystallized on Miscanthus heads.

Cool season grasses can be planted pretty much any time from the spring through fall, and should be divided ever few years to keep the crown healthy.

With warm season grasses hold off planting until mid-late May though August. They need warm weather to establish their roots. If planted into soil that is too cool and wet they will sit there and sulk. Again- divide these every few years to keep them healthy. I would do it in mid-May when they are coming up and still are small.

One caveat- some grasses get big. Hire your neighbor's teenage son- or find a chain and small tractor to divide certain Miscanthus and pampas grasses. A pickax is probably your best bet.

Please do not over water or fertilize grasses. The leaner the soil, the happier you will be, as they tend to get floppy in rich conditions.

If you have shade, try sedges, Carex, or Hakonechloa. This Japanese native is a beautiful specimen planted among ferns, astilbes or hostas. Additionally Hakonechloa macra 'Aureola' will be the Perennial Plant of the Year for 2009. Unfortunately I don't have shade.

I'm going to pick out some grasses for my backyard. If you see Jon, tell him to put the spray paint away.

Photos: Top left-Pennisetum setaceum, Middle right-Frost on Miscanthus 'Gracimillus' Bottom left-Hakonechloa macra 'Aureola'.