The golden panicles of this striking grass are used to great effect in the Hitchmough Meadow.
The grass family Poaceae contains approximately 675 genera, including the genus Celtica, which contains only this one species. Celtica gigantea, or giant oat, is one of the most admired and widely cultivated of the ornamental grasses. It originates from Spain and north west Africa, where it grows in stony, scrub-covered hillsides. In gardens it requires well-drained soil in full sun, where it produces dense clumps of slender foliage, from which emerge long stems to 2.5m in height. These develop slender panicles of oat-like heads in summer, which take on golden hues in autumn. It is at this time of year that they really come into their own, when the swaying stems and panicles are lit up in the late summer sun.