Deschampsia flexuosa

Deschampsia flexuosa, also known as wavy hair-grass or bent grass is a small evergreen, perennial grass that is part of wild flora, rarely found in gardens. It grows in a tufted and unkempt manner, with bright summer flowers above its vegetation like a mist of slender spikelets, tinged with golden beige and bronze. This plant is attractive all year round, perfectly hardy and well adapted to acidic, sandy, and even occasionally dry and poor soils.

Deschampsia flexuosa, also known as Avenella flexuosa, is a perennial grass with a fibrous and turf-forming root system, non-invasive, belonging to the poaceae family. It is native to Europe, western Asia, Africa and northern America, where it grows in woods, pastures, heathlands and rocks, mainly on sandy soil. This extremely hardy plant is very vigorous on dry acidic soils.

The plant forms an upright clump of 30 to 50 cm (12 to 20in) high when in flower, with a spread of 30 cm (12in). The dark green, evergreen leaves, are rolled up, stiff and thin, 2 mm (1in) wide, very rough and often very long. In the centre of the foliage, large airy, spreading inflorescences, whose branches are curved, and bent several times in various directions along their length appear from June to August. These delicate inflorescences measure 5 to 12 cm (2 to 5in) long and are carried by thin and reddish stems. The numerous small, blond flowers that make them up, later take on a more bronzed hue.

Deschampsia does not interfere with neighbouring plants. In a border or semi-shaded rockery the flexuous hair-grass will give its best, just like the Milium effusum 'Aureum', mixed with perennials with light foliage such as ferns, or planted next to purple heucheras. It will happily accompany daffodils, jonquils and many perennials (heathers, Japanese anemones, Lithodora, dwarf asters).