I can’t believe I have taken so long to write a blog post dedicated to one of my favourite grasses Poa! One of the most under rated and under utilised grasses in garden design. Now not everyone is a lover of Australian native grasses and that is OK, it takes a certain breed to love our sometimes dry and brown looking grasses….

What the Poas lack in luscious green foliage they regain in texture, highlights and contrast. I love this steep bank of Poa, they appear to spill onto and into each other, weeping shamelessly with their glowing seed-heads! These seed-heads are loved by native birds like the parrots and finches too.

One of my favourite cultivars is Poa ‘Kingsdale’, this is a form of Poa poiformis and has a very fine blue-green leaf. The seed heads are almost metallic silver as seen below.

Another favourite is Poa ‘Eskdale’, which has a broader leaf and even stronger blue hues.

In the image above you can see Poa ‘Eskdale’ with Lomandra ‘Mallacoota Tuff’ behind.

Then there is good old Poa labillardieri, which I use a lot, in the image above you can see it in the foreground with Anigozanthos ‘Big Red’ behind.

Poa labillardieri is a very versatile grass in the image above it is hard to believe you can see the same species growing in heavy shade. In the shade it becomes very weeping and prostrate and will not develop as many up right seed heads, but still makes a wonderful ground cover.

Poa look wonderful planted on mass but also can be combined successfully with other native plants. Their unique habit provides a soft movement to a garden which is hard to achieve with other low shrubs.

And yes they can look dry and brown but thats part of their charm!