Festuca glauca is a European native grown almost exclusively for the color of its foliage. The needle-fine leaves form neat, rounded cushions six inches to a foot tall, and the blue-green coloring is genuinely striking against warm-toned stone, gravel, or the deep greens of neighboring plants. The cultivar 'Elijah Blue' is among the most vivid and widely available selections. Spring brings small bluish flower spikes, though the foliage is the real reason to grow it.

This is a plant with a known limitation: the clumps die out in the center every two to three years and need dividing or replacing to stay presentable. Heavy, poorly drained soil accelerates that decline. Given full sun and lean, well-drained conditions, however, it is essentially pest-free and tolerant of black walnut toxicity, making it useful in gardens where that tree dominates. It works as ground cover, border edging, or a single accent in a container. Butterflies visit the flowers in season.