Blue-eyed Grass

Small, perfect, and reliably charming. the blue flowers at lawn height in late spring are a detail that makes people stop and look, and it's nearly effortless to grow.

Blue-eyed Grass is a member of the iris family hiding inside grass-like foliage: the flat, narrow leaves form tight clumps that blend seamlessly into a lawn or meadow edge, until late spring arrives and the small, bright violet-blue flowers with their distinctive yellow centers open above the foliage. Each flower is tiny and star-shaped, about half an inch across, but they appear in profusion along the winged stems for several weeks from May through June. The effect in a meadow planting or at the edge of a rain garden is a blue haze at ankle height. Plant Blue-eyed Grass where it can naturalize in moist, sunny conditions: along a path edge, in a meadow lawn mix, or at the margins of a rain garden. It self-seeds into open soil without becoming weedy, and the low, grassy clumps are nearly invisible out of bloom. In a container or at the front of a perennial border it provides charming detail in late spring when planted in small groups. The flowers close in the afternoon and on cloudy days, opening fresh each morning.