Why choose native plants? Pacific Northwest native plants know how to live here and how to thrive here. They often need much less water and less fertilizer. They spread slowly and are not invasive. They support a wide diversity of wildlife. And best of all, they look great!
Not a grass at all, this small iris relative embodies the art and mystery of meadows. With thin, grass-like leaf blades, blue eyed grass blends in seamlessly with surrounding vegetation, making it almost invisible until the clusters of blue, purple (and occasionally white or pink) flowers appear almost magically in mid-spring and early summer. The blooms which open early in the morning and close by mid-day, give way later in the summer to small seed capsules that rattle in the wind among dried out grasses. This species is closely associated with wet meadows and wetland edges on both sides of the Cascade Mountains, but it can adapt to open woodlands and even rock gardens where some moisture is available. At less than a foot high on average, this is also a plant that could be incorporated into damp lawns, providing nectar for small bees and butterflies. While blue eyed grass may take a few seasons to mature before it blooms, this is a very long-lived plant that will grow into slowly expanding clumps. When they reach several inches in diameter, those clumps can be divided and transplanted, spreading it widely across your meadow, creating unexpected blue constellations among taller grasses. Full sun, no shade. Water to establish the first season then none in subsequent year. Goes summer dormant and will awaken the following February. Photo courtesy of Northwest Meadowscapes.
