Blue oatgrass

A striking architectural steely-blue evergreen grass, which makes a spiky sphere. In early summer this is tipped by an upright spray of grey flower heads, which in a large specimen can be up to three feet high. A fairly drought-tolerant plant once established, it looks brilliant in a gravel garden or dry border, and associates especially well with deep purple foliage such as that of Sedum telephium 'Munstead Red'. The Royal Horticultural Society has given it its prestigious Award of Garden Merit (AGM).