The color of sky and sea, Elymus’s light blue glaucous blades gain intensity as the plant matures and assumes its delightful skirtlike habit. Older leaves fall outward to cover the base, revealing the new, upright central growth.

A designer’s dream, Wheat Grass holds its form without the distraction of conspicuous flowers, and is unparalleled in a container or as a specimen for the mixed border against a drift of green Carex tumulicola. Happiest in coastal areas, this extraordinary blue grass appreciates well drained soil, and light shade in hot climates.

Size: 15" high x 18" wide.

Hardy to zone 6.

Boasting a strong architectural appeal, this easily grown California native has sturdy bamboo-like stems, which remain evergreen in warmer climates and grow much taller than the species. The deep green clumping shoots are divided by brown joints and, because they contain silica, were once used to polish tin and wood. A topnotch specimen, in or out of water, Giant Scouring Rush’s straight-up, energetic habit should only reside in containers. 

Size: 5' 0" – 7' 0" high x 2' 0" – 3' 0" wide.

Hardy to zone 4.

Witness the ethereal haze of fluffy white flowers that float upon lax slender stems and you’ll see how the namesake came to be. While the native species inhabits the open woodlands, sandy enclaves and prairies of Georgia and the Carolinas, this undemanding warm season cultivar will bring a handsome fine textured mound to your backyard. Cushioned by flowing glaucous blue-green blades, the long-lasting gauzy panicles develop buff and straw tones as the season progresses, tantalizing birds, florists and gardeners through early winter. ‘Wind Dancer’ can be featured in large containers and as a soft-looking specimen in mixed borders, or it can be massed for native and meadow gardens plus planted on hillsides for erosion control. Love Grass prefers moderately moist well-drained abodes, but abides dry conditions, poor soil and black walnut roots. 

Blooms July–November

Size: 2' 0" – 3' 0" high x 2' 0" – 3' 0" wide.

Hardy to zone 6.

A widespread North American resident, this irresistible warm season bunch grass gives you good reason to love it. The low, loosely arranged narrow light green blades launch tall thin flower stalks that cushion a lovely fine textured cloud of reddish purple seed heads in late summer. Bronze and burgundy-streaked autumn foliage extends the show. A butterfly’s friend and a gardener’s delight, Eragrostis spectabilis asks for good drainage and possesses unfaltering mettle, miraculously abiding air pollution and black walnuts as well as dry, poor, sandy or gravel-strewn sites.

Blooms July–September

Size: 18" – 2' 0" high x 2' 0" wide.

Hardy to zone 5.

Greek for “wool bearing,” the genus name alludes to the light-as-a-feather, white cloud-like blooms of this wet marshlands dweller from the British Isles and Eurasia. The dense cotton balls dreamily float some 12 to 18 in. above a handsome clump of light green, finely textured foliage. Described by numerous thin bristles that extend beyond the flower spikelets, the unique inflorescences make bright, fluffy additions to dried arrangements, and later evolve into wispy nodding tufts. Thriving in moist soils yet sulking in hot, dry conditions, Cotton Grass is most effective en masse in a naturalized setting or by water’s edge intermingled with Euphorbia ‘Great Dixter’s warm accents. 

Blooms April–June

Size: 2-1/4' high x 18" wide.

Hardy to zone 4.

A favored snack for giant pandas and an airy grand spectacle for any gardener, ‘Rufa’ is one of the most hardy and versatile noninvasive Bamboos available. Prominent, paper-like rusty-red sheaths and long, narrow deep green leaves enhance courtly polished culms. Unleashing numerous new shoots each season, this vigorous Bamboo can be utilized as a year-round star specimen or planted en masse as a privacy hedge. Regular water and protection from hot afternoon sun ensure its success.

Size: 8' 0" high x 6' 0" wide.

Hardy to zone 5.

An inhabitant of central Europe, this finespun grass is practically peerless among Festucas. Soft silver-blue blades with rolled edges shape a well-groomed glaucous mound. Extending above evergreen clumping foliage, quantities of relaxed narrow stems generate vivid heliotrope shades paired with amber-hued flower spikes for more than a month. ‘Superba’ can serve as a dynamic small-scale specimen sprinkled above a stone wall or throughout the rockery, where it favors an annual early spring trimming and its stunning color always beckons.

Blooms mid May–mid July

Size: 18" – 2' 0" high x 2' 0" – 2-1/2' wide.

Hardy to zone 4.

A focal point for its stiff silvery blades, this robust grass originated from seed that Cal Flora Nursery owner, Phil Van Soelen, collected near California’s Sonoma coast. Anchored by burgundy sheaves, glaucous gray-green leaves remain evergreen in milder climates and become more lustrous as the weather warms. Unfurling in open, yet showy, abundance, the nimble greenish panicles mature to a golden hue some 2 or 3 ft. above a fairly compact, dense basal tuft of enduring handsome foliage. Resplendent massed with shrubs such as Ceanothus, Cistus or Ribes, ‘Phil’s Silver’ prefers minimal to moderate summer water and obliges an array of situations, such as coastal slopes, wind and drought in cooler locations.

Blooms April–June

Size: 3' 0" high x 3' 0" wide.

Hardy to zone 7.

Selected by Cal Flora Nursery from seed they collected near Willits, CA, this extra-energetic gray-green grass grows twice the size of most California Fescues. Slim blades forge a dapper mounding habit tossing exquisite lofty flower stalks, which house pendulous spikelets with rose-tinged blooms on arching, loosely arranged branches. A butterfly’s delight but no friend to deer, ‘Willits’ Giant’s steadfast temperament can be massed on slopes plus featured as a specimen in mixed borders and partly shady garden beds or as a ground cover beneath native oak trees. Periodic watering and not-so-cold winter temperatures maintain its evergreen good looks.

Blooms May–June

Size: 5' 0" – 6' 0" high x 3' 0" wide.

Zone 7b/8.

We have nurseryman and botanist Henry Eilers to thank for this adaptable good-looking toughie that he chanced upon in Turkey. The arching, ever-so-fine matte-green foliage supports a showy array of lanky tail-like sand-colored blooms atop firm red-suffused stalks. Most likely of Festuca ovina parentage, ‘Eilers Beauty’ lends an inviting aspect to mixed borders or more relaxed plantings, where it can accompany Euphorbia ‘Blue Haze’ and Helianthemum ‘Fire Dragon’, while tackling both heat and dry shade.

Blooms May–June

Size: 20" high x 20" wide.

Hardy to zone 4.

Not only beautifully blue, but hard-working to boot, this water wise perennial grass is a California native from Del Norte County. A thick, tidy hummock of very thin, chalk blue blades sends up slender, wandlike stems holding graceful, airy golden sprays.

Hallmarked by a composed appearance, ‘Stony Creek’ is most impressive and enduring in large drifts on banks or hillsides, where it aids erosion control, resists those pesky deer, doesn’t falter in full sun even inland, and prefers some afternoon shade.

Blooms April–June

Size: 2' 0" – 2-1/2' high x 2' 0" wide.

Zone 7/8.

Indigenous to Morocco’s Atlas Mountains, this long-lived cold-hardy grass sprouts an elegantly arching fountain distinguished by dapper khaki-tinged gray-green blades. Taller than most Festucas, Atlas is reputed to be one of the finest large area ground covers, proving essential for mass plantings on slopes, in mixed borders or natural-style meadows. Evergreen where winters are mild and remarkably drought tolerant, its reliable good-looking mound relishes occasional waterings and doesn’t require a trim, only a little raking.

Blooms June

Size: 2' 0" – 3' 0" high x 2' 0" – 3' 0" wide.

Hardy to zone 4.

A study in urbane simplicity, this vivid green grass fashions plush mounds of flowing bamboo-like foliage. Hakonechloa macra has often been overlooked, though its faster growing habit has a lot to offer, withstanding more sun, drought and cold than the variegated Hakones. Solidly colored blades offset striped, gold, bronze or broad-leafed plants to great effect, or meld with Buxus ‘Blauer Heinz’ for a meditative green-on-green composition.

Size: 12" – 3' 0" high x 12" – 3' 0" wide.

Hardy to zone 4.

Always a celebrated cultivar, this Japanese forest grass is more sun tolerant than the golden form. The pendulous green foliage is adorned with irregular thick and thin creamy-white stripes. Preferring dappled light, ‘Albo-Striata’ will brighten your days whether planted in the rock garden or a container, along pathways or beneath a dwarf Maple.

Size: 12" high x 2' 0" wide.

Hardy to zone 6.

Gleaming with the clearest gilded shades imaginable, ‘All Gold’s broad foliar ribbons are surely the envy of King Midas! This slightly more upright Hakonechloa possesses the characteristic fluid ease of our other cultivars, and when set amid Astrantia ‘Moulin Rouge’, its radiant, fountain-like blades convey a dazzling vitality in any shady nook.

Size: 18" high x 18" wide.

Hardy to zone 6.

This dwarf cool season grass is lush and courtly. Cascading, satin-like foliage is broad and variegated with cream, chartreuse and green, illuminating dark garden corners and softening hard features. Appreciative of moist well-drained soil, ‘Aureola’ makes a choice specimen or slow spreading ground cover. We especially enjoy it in Japanese gardens as well as under the ambient light of Corylopsis pauciflora.

Size: 15" high x 18" wide.

Hardy to zone 6.

With the same pendent elegance as its relatives, ‘Beni-kaze’ entertains brilliant red fall color. A verdant mound of draped loosely arranged blades remains green until cooler weather ignites the smooth foliar ribbons and begs its name, which translates to “red wind.” Lounging in the late season shadows, this larger growing Hakonechloa echoes the warm-hued fanfare of autumnal foliage.

Size: 18" – 20" high x 2' 0" – 2-1/2' wide.

Hardy to zone 6.

Discovered in a French trial garden, this recently introduced Hakone Grass is distinctive for its smaller stature and unique foliar blend of fall hues. The pendent, creamy white and yellow-green blades, which sport irregular green bands, appear similar to ‘Aureola’ during the spring and summer months.

Once the weather cools, some of the foliage transmutes deep reddish purple colors, while many leaves retain their bright variegation, crafting an exceptional multitoned spectacle. (pp#19,897)

Size: 10" – 14" high x 18" wide.

Hardy to zone 5.

A vibrant foliar infusion of orange-red hues, induced by cool autumn weather, makes this compelling new cultivar unique. Reminiscent of bamboo, artful weeping blades remain deep green throughout the growing season, shaping a soft-looking low ground cover, which exhibits more sun and drought tolerance than its golden or variegated cousins plus promises not to overtake its neighbors. ‘Nicolas’ brings bold color to the season’s last curtain call and can be celebrated as a container subject, planted en masse in a naturalistic or modern venue or for a favored Japanese tradition, it can be paired with bonsai. (pp#19,898)

Size: 10" – 14" high x 18" wide.

Hardy to zone 5.

Sporting the reverse variegation of its parent, ‘Aureola’, and growing slightly taller as well, ‘Sunny Delight’s slender predominately green blades showcase lambent golden yellow streaks and striations in varying widths. The shapely flowing habit makes a durable and deciduous bambooesque partner for fellow dappled shade-lovers like Geranium ‘Alec’s Pink’ or Tricyrtis ‘Blue Wonder’.

Size: 14" high x 20" – 22" wide.

Hardy to zone 5.