Mount Ephraim Gardens, at Hernhill, near Faversham is a lovely setting to enjoy the autumn sunshine.

The gardens, within an 800-acre estate, were first laid out in the early 1900s but after wartime neglect were substantially restored in the early 1950s.

The 10-acre gardens are now home to a Millennium Rose Garden; a Japanese-style rock garden and an arboretum, but the thing that really caught my eye was the Miz Maze, planted in 2004 on the slopes of a former vineyard.

Here, I found nine labyrinths of raised turf paths planted with ornamental grasses and herbaceous perennials creating a delightful meadow effect blending into the landscape beyond.

As we move into autumn the crescendo of vibrant colour from pots, baskets & bedding fades away, it’s all too easy to think the garden is shutting up shop for the year but far from it, ornamental grasses which have been making a contribution throughout the summer with their fantastic foliage are now producing the most beautiful flower heads.

Provided with a free-draining sunny site, these hardy grasses will look magnificent for months, eye-catching enough to be seen from the window even on a rainy day.

Unfortunately I think the pampas grass of the 1970s didn’t do much for the reputation of grasses but there are so many beautiful varieties they can play a part in most gardens.

Try a Pennisetum often called 'feathertop grass' because of its fluffy dense flower heads or a Miscanthus ‘Zebrinus’ with its waving stems of striped foliage, or what about one of my particular favourites, a Stipa gigantea with its huge sheaf of very long-stemmed, oat-like flower-heads.

I’m a definite convert to these elegant, trouble free, drought tolerant plants. They are an excellent choice for show-stopping results in a relatively short period of time without much effort and maintenance. Need I say more!