The best times to visit the Grass Garden are early summer for the annual grasses and cereals, and autumn and winter for the perennial grasses when these have produced their seedheads. A grass is described as perennial when it lasts for more than one growing season. The season of greatest interest for annual grasses is early summer. Every autumn, seed is gathered from the annual grasses and then sown in a cool glasshouse in March or early April. Seedlings are planted out in the Grass Garden in April or May, depending on their tenderness.
Bamboos are the only members of the grass family that grow mainly in forests.
There are only three different bamboos displayed in the grass garden, the majority of Kew's collection being housed in the Bamboo Garden. A tropical bamboo used in building and construction can also be seen in the Palm House. Miscanthus sinensis This ornamental grass, native to Southern China, was introduced to the horticultural trade in Western Europe as late as the 1970s. Plants had been introduced before, but never flowered in the prevailing climate. A nurseryman in Germany managed to raise a single batch of seed and from this, several dozen garden forms were selected.