Hierochloe odorata

Hierochloe odorata: Sweet Vanilla Scent, Roaming Roots

Bright green blades that smell like vanilla, and the scent gets STRONGER as it dries. This native grass is the only thing in the garden that smells better the longer you leave it alone. Your laundry could never.

Plant Characteristics:

• Botanical Name: Hierochloe odorata (also listed as Anthoxanthum nitens)
• Common Name: Sweet Grass, Vanilla Grass
• Height: 30–60 cm (1–2 ft)
• Spread: Spreads by rhizomes into a patch; allow at least 60 cm (2 ft)
• Flowers: Small, shiny, pale spikelets in loose clusters held just above the leaves; interesting rather than showy
• Bloom Time: Late spring to early summer (May to June)
• Foliage: Narrow, bright green blades with a sweet vanilla scent that grows stronger as they dry
• Features: Fragrant foliage, spreads to form a groundcover

Where to Plant: Grow it where it's allowed to roam: a meadow edge, a moist sunny bank, the margin of a rain garden, or a native planting. It spreads with enthusiasm, so keep it away from small, delicate neighbours, and plant it within easy reach if you want to cut the leaves in summer for braiding and drying.

Companion Plants: Monarda didyma adds red flowers from June through August at 60 to 120 cm, a good partner for a native grass. Platycodon 'Astra Blue' sits in front at 20 to 25 cm with blue flowers from June into August. Anemone virginiana brings white flowers at 60 to 90 cm over the same months. Each one grows in sun to partial sun, and the grass adds a fine, soft texture between the flowers.

Plant Care: Plant it in full sun to part sun, in fertile soil that stays evenly moist. It grows in clay, loam or sand, but it isn't drought tolerant, so water during dry spells. It's a poor choice for a hot, dry boulevard strip. The rhizomes run fairly shallow. To keep it in bounds, sink an edging barrier about 30 cm (12 in) deep, or grow it in a large container. Cut back the old foliage in early spring. Dig and divide pieces in spring to share or to control the patch.

History: Sweet grass grows around the northern half of the globe, and its name means fragrant holy grass, with the vanilla scent coming from coumarin. Many Indigenous peoples in Canada and the United States hold it sacred and use it for braids, smudging and basketry.

Final Thoughts: Give it sun and room to wander, because it will spread. Brush past it on a warm day and try not to grin. THE BAKERY HAS COMPETITION.