Hordeum Jubatum Dried | Foxtail Barley | Norfolk Grown

The most theatrical grass we grow. Hordeum jubatum — commonly called Foxtail Barley or Squirrel Tail Grass — is nothing like the agricultural barley of beer and bread. This is the wild ornamental cousin: a decorative prairie grass native to North America, grown purely for the drama of its enormous flowing awns. Each seed head produces long silky bristles up to 10cm on either side, curving gently outwards like a squirrel's tail or a fox's brush, catching the light in a shimmering halo. Silvery-green when fresh, drying to a soft palette of pinkish-blush, warm cream, and pale straw. The most elegant, movement-filled grass in our cutting field.

Grown and barn-dried at Salle Moor Hall, Norfolk. Generous bunches of 15 stems, each around 50 cm long, harvested at the exact moment when the awns have reached their full curved length but before they start to shatter. Air-dried naturally to preserve both the pinkish-blush colouration and the fine feathery structure. Grown on our cutting field alongside our other dried grasses — a proper ornamental crop cultivated specifically for the drying harvest. Chemical-free. Seasonal, available while the year's harvest lasts.

Not agricultural barley — the ornamental cousin

A useful distinction for customers who know their grasses:

• Hordeum vulgare (agricultural barley) — the grain crop used for beer, whisky, and bread. Compact seed heads with short straight awns. Bronze Age domesticated. What most people mean when they say "barley"
• Hordeum jubatum (this) — wild ornamental grass native to North American prairies. Delicate seed heads with dramatically long curved feathery awns. Perennial. Grown purely for beauty rather than food

They're related but visually completely different. If you've seen Foxtail Barley in a florist's bunch or a wild prairie photograph, this is what you're getting — the theatrical wild grass, not the compact grain.

What makes Foxtail Barley distinctive

• Dramatically long curved awns — individual awns extend up to 10cm on either side of each seed head, curving outwards like a delicate feathered fan. This is the defining Hordeum jubatum feature and the reason to buy it. 
• Blushing pink-and-straw colouration — unlike most dried grasses which are uniform straw or beige, Foxtail Barley dries to a subtle mixed palette of pinkish-blush at the awn tips, warm cream in the middle, and pale straw at the base. Naturally variegated colour without any dyeing
• Feathery light-catching silhouette — the fine silky awns catch light beautifully, creating a soft glowing halo around each seed head. Reads as "wild meadow at golden hour" rather than "dried harvest bunch"
• Gentle downward curve — the awns curve naturally outward and slightly down, giving each stem a delicate arched silhouette. Adds movement and grace that upright grasses can't provide
• Wild grass character — Foxtail Barley appears as something foraged from a meadow rather than harvested from a field. Suits wild, boho, and cottagecore aesthetics particularly well

The Bishy grass range

Foxtail Barley joins our other dried grasses to build a range with distinctly different character:

• Dried Bunny Tails Long — plush cream cylinders (soft rounded fluffy character)
• Hordeum jubatum Foxtail Barley (this) — long curved feathery awns in pinkish-blush (dramatic sweeping character)

Two grasses with completely different silhouettes and colours. Together they cover the "soft plush" and "dramatic feathery" ends of the dried grass spectrum.

Styling ideas

• Modern wild bouquets — the blushing pink tones make Foxtail Barley one of the most versatile dried grasses for contemporary boho and wild-meadow bouquets. Combines with almost any dried flower colour palette without dominating
• Wedding bouquets and buttonholes — the delicate feathery character reads as ethereal rather than agricultural. Perfect for boho weddings, festival weddings, wildflower-themed weddings, and any bridal work that wants movement and grace
• Modern minimalist single-species — five or seven stems in a plain glass cylinder or tall matte vessel creates a properly beautiful contemporary sculpture. The delicate scale and pink-blush colour suit gallery-white interiors surprisingly well
• Wild autumn wreaths — the feathery awns add wonderful movement and light to wreaths. Tuck small clusters into a twig base for the "found in a meadow" wreath aesthetic. Particularly good with pale, soft-toned dried flowers
• Boho and cottagecore arrangements — if there's a signature aesthetic Foxtail Barley belongs to, it's the layered eclectic boho / cottagecore look. Naturally variegated colour + wild grass character + delicate scale is exactly what the aesthetic asks for
• Pressed-flower and craft work — individual heads with their long feathery awns translate beautifully to framed pressed art, greeting cards, and shadow-box displays. The pinkish-blush colouration adds gentle warmth to pressed compositions

Perfect dried companions

• Dried Bunny Tails Long — the plush-and-feathery grass partnership. Both soft-textured, completely different silhouettes. Properly lovely paired
• Dried Statice Suworowii — the pink-echo partnership. Rose-pink Statice spikes picking up the pinkish-blush of Foxtail Barley for a cohesive pink palette
• Dried Achillea 'Ballerina' or Feverfew — the cream partnership. Soft white cream fillers alongside the pinkish-cream awns of Foxtail Barley for a gentle cottage palette
• Dried Echinacea Cones — the wild-versus-structural partnership. Bronze spiky cones anchor arrangements while feathery Foxtail Barley provides movement and light
• Dried Lavender — the "wild meadow at dusk" combination. Purple lavender against pinkish-blush awns creates a cohesive muted palette
• Dried Amaranthus (Green Viridis) — the green-and-blush partnership. The fresh lime-green Viridis Amaranthus against the pinkish awns creates a modern botanical arrangement

Handle with care. The awns are beautiful but delicate — individual bristles can shed if the bunch is handled roughly during arrangement. Handle from the base of the stems, not the seed heads. If some awns detach during arranging, this is normal and cosmetically insignificant — the mass effect of 15 stems means individual losses don't affect the overall silhouette. Once positioned in an arrangement, Foxtail Barley sits quietly and doesn't need to be touched.

Care note. Keep away from direct heat sources which can dry the awns further and increase shedding. Keep out of direct sunlight to preserve the pinkish-blush colouration (the pink tones will pale toward straw over prolonged sunlight exposure). Store dry. The naturally-variegated colour holds well for years given proper care.

Growing your own. Hordeum jubatum is one of the easier ornamental grasses to grow from seed — hardy annual/short-lived perennial, sown in spring or autumn, producing plants of 40-60cm with the distinctive feathery seed heads from June through August. Loves full sun and well-drained soil. Self-seeds gently once established, so a small planting typically returns for several years. Excellent for cottage garden borders, wildflower meadows, and cutting gardens. We sell Hordeum jubatum seed — growing your own gives you the summer garden performance (properly spectacular when the seed heads catch the low sun) and the autumn drying harvest.