Deschampsia caespitosa Goldschleier

The Deschampsia caespitosa 'Goldschleier', also known as Gold Veil tufted hairgrass, is a beautiful evergreen and perennial grass, spectacular all year round, both with its flowering branches and its vigorous foliage, and in winter with the magnificent habit of culms and faded flowers. It forms a compact and gracefully arched clump, composed of very fine, green and persistent leaves, from which large, light inflorescences emerge in summer, in loose panicles, mingling gold and silver. This plant is very hardy, undemanding, and easily self-seeds in the garden, without ever becoming invasive.

Deschampsia caespitosa is a perennial grass with a densely tufted stump, non-spreading (tufted), belonging to the poaceae family. It is native to Europe, temperate Asia, and boreal America, where it easily grows in various wet and uncultivated places. Very long-lived, this extremely hardy plant self-seeds quite easily, but the young seedlings will be easily eliminated.

The 'Goldschleier' cultivar from which this plant originates, forms an upright clump 80 cm (32in) to 1 m (3ft) in height when in flower, with an almost equal spread. Large, wide and airy inflorescences appear in the heart of the foliage from July to September, carried by erect culms. They are composed of numerous small flowers initially purplish, then turning golden yellow with silvery reflections. This flowering becomes brighter every day. The evergreen leaves are green, flat, 2 to 5 mm (1in) wide, very rough and often very long.

Few vegetal scenes match in intensity the almost unreal spectacle of an autumn sun flooding the mass of this tufted hairgrass, suddenly becoming very blonde, especially if it has been planted against a backdrop of yews. A fascinating and poetic tableau, even more easily reproduced in our gardens as these two very hardy plants accept any ordinary fresh soil, even if it is clayey and heavy. Deschampsia does not hinder neighboring plantings and thrives at the edge of water features. This grass performs best in mass plantings that are mixed with perennials with ample foliage such as Darmera or ligularias, or when planted in mass to bring lightness and brightness to a wild garden, in front of a dark foliage screen. It will happily accompany daffodils, jonquils, and many tall perennials (sneezeweeds, echinaceas, Japanese anemones, asters). This grass grows well in a large pot, enhanced by a wall covered with ivy or a flaming Virginia creeper in autumn. Finally, its long inflorescences lighten bouquets, both fresh and dried.