Purple Love Grass

Purple Love Grass is a compact native grass with rosy panicles floating above the foliage and simply glowing against the sunlight. It is listed as one of famed landscape designer Piet Oudolfs 100 Must-Have Plants. Set plants at the front of the perennial border or raised in rock gardens where the sun can catch them, or in meadows or prairie gardens alongside flowering natives such as Asters, Liatris, and Goldenrod. The airy seed heads are used to add texture to dried flower arrangements. Often found on sandy or disturbed sites, purple love grass provides excellent erosion control and naturalizes readily. The native range extends from Maine to Wyoming, south to Florida and Arizona, and includes dry prairies, upland savannas, open woods, and limestone glades. Provide full sun and dry, well-drained, sandy, or gravelly soil. Purple Love Grass is drought tolerant, and can grow near black walnut trees. Watch for songbirds foraging on seeds in autumn.