Deer grass or Basket grass. Stephen Edwards says in his article, Ten Splendid Grasses, “Last spring, before the largest patch in the Regional Parks Botanic Garden had developed its new flowering culms, I found a woman stretched out snoozing among and upon the inviting bunches. She was shocked when I showed her the label, over which, having failed to notice it, she had thrown her coat. She had just gotten carried away.” Among the many reasons to use this fine native grass, we can now add napping. Deer grass forms dense hummocks of bright gray-green, evergreen foliage to 4’ tall with an equal spread. Flowers emerge silver in early summer, in showy, switch-like panicles 2-3’ tall that turn buff color later in the season. Plants prefer moist, well-drained, fertile soil in full sun or part shade with regular to occasional water. Tolerant of a wide range of garden conditions, we have seen deer grass perform equally well in clay or sandy soils, as well as thriving under extreme conditions including heat, drought, and saline soils. Useful massed in meadows, as filler in median strips or as a unifying element in mixed borders. Hardy to 0F. California (from San Diego to Mount Shasta), Texas and Northern Mexico.
