Blue-Eyed Grass

Blue-Eyed Grass by Laura Pettigrew
For Piccolo and Piano
Published by Alry Publications
Duration: 3’15”
Includes piano score and piccolo part

Program Notes by Laura Pettigrew:
Blue-eyed grass (Sisyrinchium montanum) is a small perennial, only 10-30 cm (4-12″) tall, with leaves to 3mm (1’8″) wide. The plants start opening their eyes in early June and continue to look around throughout the month. You have to be a morning person to photograph those pretty blue eyes, as in the afternoon you’ll find that they have already closed their eyes for the day.  Their medium green grass-like leaves fade into the background and mingle shyly with all the prairie grasses around them.  Each pretty blue eye sheds a tear when it is finished blooming,  in the form of a small round capsue filled with timy black seeds.  We can only speculate if they are tears of happiness or tears of sorrow.  This plant is also known as “star grass” by some people because the flowers are distinctly star-shaped.  Blue-eyed grass is actually not a true grass, but a member of the iris family, closely related to blue flag or wild iris (Iris versicolour).  “We exist to create, through life, love, driven by our passions and the force of nature”