Wood Brome (Brachypodium sylvaticum) - Native Woodland Grass for Butterflies & Shaded Habitats (Peat-Free Super Plugs)

Graceful, soft and quietly vital, Wood Brome is one of Britain’s most valuable shade-tolerant native grasses. Its loose, nodding seedheads and arching stems add gentle texture to woodland gardens and dappled corners - and to wildlife, it’s a home, shelter and nursery all in one.

Why it matters
The Wall Brown butterfly relies on brome grasses like this as a food source for its caterpillars, especially where sunlight breaks through glades or along woodland rides. It also shelters beetles, spiders and nesting insects through the year.

Where it thrives

• Light: Partial shade to bright woodland edge

• Soil: Moist, well-drained loam or leaf-rich soil

• Setting: Woodland borders, hedge bases, or under native shrubs

Garden use
Ideal for softening shaded banks or weaving between ferns and spring wildflowers. Unlike more vigorous meadow grasses, it’s polite and forms loose, non-invasive clumps. Leave the seedheads standing - they shimmer beautifully in low light and provide late-season forage.

Folklore & Notes
Once scythed for livestock bedding, Wood Brome earned the nickname Sweet Brome in parts of northern England for its fresh, green scent after rain.

Joel says…
“Woodland grasses like this bring life where people think nothing will grow. They’re the unsung heroes - feed for butterflies, cover for insects, and texture for the human eye.”