Carex would be good . there is a grass elijah blue a Fescue I think. that always does well in pots and isnt too tall similar to the carex

I have a lovely fine reddy brown one that has no name with it so I cant supply a name. But there will be lots of others who will be able to offer advice.

Hi Seaburngirl. Don't you mean 'Festuca' Elijah Blue? It is beautiful as a specimen, but has a lot of verticality. After a couple of years it seems to need its stems trimming to its aesthetic detriment. I think need something that bushies over the sides a bit, like a rounded shaggy hair cut. Anyone got any ideas?

I have Mexican Feather Grass and Festuca Elijah Blue and both are far happier in the ground than in pots as they need damp soil, in fact most grasses do.

I think you better with a Phormium or Yucca due to the drier conditions in a basket. I have seen Acacia, Ricinus and Cordylines in hanging baskets with great effect.

Fescue is the local/common name for the Festuca genus Jonah.

My Oh reminded me that I did identify the brown grass. its Carex comans 'Bronze' a shaggy haircut if ever there was one. I have it in pots so it would be similar in a basket. I'll add a photo so you get the idea. the pot is 10" in diameter.

photo is there now Jonah . It is a very fine leaf compared to 'evergold'

I have Stipa tenuissima in pots for winter interest, a nice 'biscuit' colour and plenty of movement when there is a breeze. They will grow in quite shallow soil and need little attention, preferring dry, well drained soil.

Hakenochloa macra 'Aureola' is very amenable to growing in a pot, so I would have thought it would be just as happy in a hanging basket

Hakenochloa isn't evergreen though, is it, Andrew?

Carex Evergold looks nice all winter - but it is a sedge, not a grass, so in a basket, you may need to keep any eye on it from a watering point of view. Acorus is another evergreen one with variegated leaves, tends to grow in fan like clumps which lean over at the top, but it also prefers damper conditions.

I know you asked about grasses Jonathan but I've often seen ferns looking really good in hanging baskets. Obviously they would need to be evergreen and suitable for the light you have.

I cannot recall where we saw them, but I do remember visiting a house/garden that had a series of Globes (hanging baskets one upturned upon the other) that had been planted with - Stipa tenuissima in some and with Carex evergold? (the one that stays brownish all year) in the others.

The creators had spared no expense and had stuffed a lot of plants into the globes, but the result was superb.

Thank you so much for all your replies. Maybe swell gel might help Carex Evergold, or Acorus? My baskets would be for full sun, which would rule out ferns. I have lots of picture seeking and research to go and do now. Thank you so much for all your thoughts and ideas. (By the way, Vinca Illumination is superb for such sized baskets, 12 months per year). Just want to do some likewise things with grass. They would all be right by my patio door, so very easy to keep an eye on for regular watering. No walks up a path. They'd only be two metres or less away from where I always sit. I wonder also about Ophiopogon, but that would not hang over the edges,- I think?

Whoops, sorry, I happened twice now can't remove. (But aren't I great to look at)!

Ophiopogon does curl over at its tips a bit, but probably not enough to give a dangling effect. O. nigrescens would make a nice contrast with the yellow/green variegated sedges though.

I'm feeling excited about all your ideas.

I also thought of Hakenochloa . . . no, not evergreen, but H. macra turns an attractive 'bronze' in winter, which lasts well, so you only have a barren look for a couple of months. Lovely cascading habit too. Uncinia rubra is evergreen, cascades, is happy in pots and is a lovely deep red.

The hakonechloa I'm thinking of is evergreen

Not according to Neil Lucas, Andrew, (the doyen of grasses at Knoll Gardens), but I wish it was!

In that case, mine is misnamed