Maiden grass is the green original: very fine, narrow blades, each with a pale silver line down the middle, arching out into a vase-shaped clump five to six feet tall. The plumes open coppery in early autumn, then dry to a silver-tan that stands all winter.

It needs full sun to hold itself upright; in shade the clump splays open. Any reasonable soil, and drought stops bothering it once it has rooted in. Leave it standing for winter structure, then take the whole clump down to a few inches in late winter before the new shoots show.