Like it or not, the calendar, indifferent to our preferences, announces the final day of summer today. Me, I love this time of year. The heat loosens its grip on our days, and my favorite plants are peaking. Grasses are blooming, the big leaves are at their biggest. The angle of the sun makes everything look magical and golden. It gets me in the mood for plant hunting, and I’ve got it bad for this mystery grass. I’ve got to get this into my garden.
UPDATE: Okay this is funny. It turns out this is Stipa barbata. The Annie’s Annuals description describes this plant similarly, so if I had just searched plant lust for “Mesmerizing Grass,” it would have led me to its identity. How random. But the photos we had were from the stage where the flower looks more like mexican feather grass, before it gets all puffed up and wispy.
It’s just so…wispy and ghostly. Look how well it mingles. I can hardly stand it.
The ethereal blooms remind me of traces of sparklers waved in the dark.
Does this happen to you? Are you suddenly gripped with a plant obsession you cannot ignore? My fall plant hunting is officially kicking into high gear.
Any ideas, plant fanatics?