Blue-Eyed Grass: Low-Growing Native for Borders & Edges

Highlights

Blue-eyed grass looks like a delicate blade of grass until it blooms—and then it’s magic. Their tiny violet flowers float above their stems like little stars in a lawn. They stay small and tidy at just a foot tall, making them perfect for borders. Watch them feed native bees with barely any work.

Blue-eyed grass, a grassy clump dotted with small pale blue star-shaped flowers — Tiny, joyful, and extremely easy to grow. Image © The Plant Native

Is blue-eyed grass a good choice for my yard?

Yes if you want a low-growing plant
Yes if your space gets full sun to part sun
Yes if you’re planting for pollinators
Yes if your space is has good drainage

Blue-eyed grass does not do well in wet areas. Do you have a puddle-filled spot? Visit our Best Native Plants for Rain Gardens for some recs.

Where is blue-eyed grass native?

Native to 34 US states, Washington, D.C., and 4 Canadian provinces (Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Quebec)

Native range

Not native

Sources: NatureServe, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (World Checklist of Vascular Plants) and the USDA PLANTS Database, compiled by The Plant Native. How we map native ranges

This is a surprising bonus for this plant: even in snowy Northeast settings, many blue-eyed grass will remain green and upright.

Planting card

Blue-Eyed Grass

Sisyrinchium angustifolium

Full

Part

Shade

Moistneeds drainage

Under 3 ft tall0.5–1 ft wide

6–12 in apartTuck them in close for a full look

Pretty easy

Every spring

Deer-resistant

Where blue-eyed grass shines in your yard

Blue-eyed grass is short: 4-12 inches tall on average. This makes it perfect for borders, containers, and walkways. The more you plant, the better it looks!

Blue-eyed grass works great in planters or raised beds. Below, you can see how the landscaping crew at the Audubon Aquarium in New Orleans is using this native grass in their outdoor raised beds (it’s planted in the corner of the triangle). This area takes blasting full sun, and blue-eyed grass is perfect for the space.

New raised-bed native planting in a city plaza, with blue-eyed grass in the corner of a bed — Blue-eyed grass in the corner of a raised bed planter, outside the Audubon Aquarium in New Orleans. Image © The Plant Native

Full sun = more flowers

It likes a range of sun, from full sun to partial sun. One note on planting in part-sun areas: you’ll get the most blooms when blue-eyed grass is in full sun.

Blue-eyed grass is often evergreen

This is a surprising bonus for this plant: even in snowy Northeast settings, many blue-eyed grass will remain green and upright. (This might remind you again of its cousin—irises are also upright and green, even in the winter.) Blue-eyed grass will fill out with new greenery in the spring, right before the flowers bloom.

Blue-eyed grass in winter, green grassy leaves poking up through snow — Even in a snowy Pennsylvania winter, blue-eyed grass provides a burst of green. Image © The Plant Native

Plant nerd fact

Blue-eyed grass has a cousin: iris

Blue-eyed grass, a clump of small pale blue star-shaped flowers on grassy leaves — Blue-Eyed Grass

Dwarf crested iris, small pale blue flowers carpeting the woodland floor — Dwarf Crested Iris (native!)

Look closely at the tiny blue flowers and their blade-shaped leaves, and you might be reminded of another flower: the iris. Iris flowers and blue-eyed grass both belong to the plant family Iridaceae.

If you’re looking to plant other native flowers from this family, head over to our Beginner’s Guide to Native Irises to meet some cousins.

What native plants pair well with blue-eyed grass?

Since this native plant is so short, it should be planted in front of taller flowers in well-drained areas, such as bee balm, coneflower, many species of milkweed, and rattlesnake master.

See all 207 profiles →

Where can I buy blue-eyed grass?

Looking to source some blue-eyed grass for your yard? We’ll be honest: finding a specific native plant can be challenging, especially when looking at conventional nurseries. Most conventional nurseries stock non-natives or only common natives like black-eyed susan and coneflowers.

Limit the disappointment by trying these four ideas for sourcing blue-eyed grass:

And that wraps up our love letter to blue-eyed grass! With its enchanting flowers and low-maintenance nature, this native perennial is a fantastic choice. While it prefers well-drained soil, the rewards are well worth the minimal effort. Don’t hesitate to plant this joyful perennial and watch as your garden is filled with pollinators. Blue-eyed grass is a perfect native plant for edges and borders. And if you love semi-evergreen, blue-flowered plants, stop by our Beginner’s Guide to Native Irises. Happy planting!

Sources

Johnson, Lorraine and Colla, Sheila. A Northerner’s Guide to Native Plants and Pollinators. (2023), 79.
USDA Plants Database, Blue-Eyed Grass
University of Wisconsin-Madison Horticulture, Blue-eyed grass, Sisyrinchium
NC State Extension, Sisyrinchium angustifolium

Other blue natives

Blue is a rare color in nature! Here are some other options.

Written by

Emily Lessard

Founder & Editor, The Plant Native

Emily Lessard is the founder and editor of The Plant Native, the site that helps homeowners across North America get started with native plants. She holds a Sustainable Landscapes certificate through the Pennsylvania Landscape & Nursery Association, is finishing a Native Perennial Garden Design Certificate at Temple University, and is the author of Plant Native: A Practical Guide to Over 100 Native Plants of North America (Quarto, March 2027). She gardens outside Philadelphia in the 8.3 Southeastern Plains ecoregion.

Meet Emily

Updated October 9, 2026Find more: Blue Deer Resistant Flower Spring Summer Full Sun Part Sun

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Garden notes

Notes from people who’ve grown it

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