Happiness is a haze of fluffy flowers and Pennisetum 'Black Beauty' brings a bounty of it, combining contemporary style with buoyant fun. With flowers like sooty-looking kitten tails, this black fountain grass will introduce a playful movement to your planting scheme as its stems swish with carefree jollity in the breeze. Frizzy, grey-black flowers are produced on multiple stems once this plant is established, in late summer forming a misty cumulous like little thunderclouds. The display of Pennisetum 'Black Beauty' is airy and soft and this translucent, dim haze provides a contrasting texture and backdrop which will illuminate neighbouring flowers.

Fountain grass likes to be grown in areas with sandy, stony or poor, free-draining soil. Find a sunny spot for Pennisetum alopecuroides 'Black Beauty', either in pots, borders or a gravel area for best results. This perennial is really well suited to coastal gardens in areas where temperatures are unlikely to fall below around -5°C in winter. It’s not entirely winter hardy but it can tolerate some frost—in areas with colder winters you can grow Pennisetum 'Black Beauty' in pots and move them under cover during cold snaps in winter. Try combining this late summer flowering ornamental grass with something bright for contrast, such as Echinacea 'Evolution Colorific' or Verbena 'Lollipop'.