Pampas Grass Is So Popular On Instagram People Are Stealing It, But The Meaning Behind Displaying Pampas Grass Is Quite Scandalous

A council in north east England has issued a warning to residents not to pick pampas grass they find on beaches after the plant became so popular on Instagram that people actually began stealing it.

South Tyneside council planted thousands of pampas grass plants along their coast in 2011 in order to encourage sand dunes to grow and protect the seafront in South Shields. Now however, since pampas plants are so popularly displayed in people’s homes – and cost about £40 a pop online – people have been taking the plants they find on the beach.

‘We have been made aware of residents picking plants and grasses including pampas grass from the seafront,” South Tyneside council posted on Facebook. ‘Can we please ask residents that while it may look pretty in their homes these plants are planted specifically to protect our coastline and is important to the overall ecosystem… Can residents please not pick any grasses/plants along our frontage. Thank you.’

According to Instagram, ‘Pampas grass’ has been hashtagged over 296,000 times as influencers and the like begin displaying the tall white plants in their home. A popular choice for weddings, they can be dried and displayed for years. But what the young Instagrammers loving pampas might not realise is that there was a very scandalous reason pampas grass fell out of favour in the first place.

What does pampas grass mean?

At least, we’re assuming no one knows what pampas grass means since Google Trends shows that everyone is Googling ‘what does pampas grass mean?’. Well, while the plant is obviously just a pretty addition to your home, once upon a time people thought that pampas grass meant the residents displaying it were swingers. Yes, seriously.

Back in the 1970s, pampas grass was all the rage but after rumours spread that the plant signalled you were up for some swinging, it fell out of favour. In fact, in 2017 the rumour mill was still having a huge impact on sales of pampas grass, with The Telegraph reporting that sellers were complaining about drops in sales.

‘I've got no evidence that it was ever actually used for that - I think it goes back to the fact that it was planted in people's front gardens,’ Nick Coslett, Palmstead Nurseries’ marketing manager said at the time. ‘But there is that connotation, unfortunately. It's all part of that 1970s, kitsch feel.’

Palmstead Nurseries had noted a 50% drop in sales compared to the decade prior, seemingly as the swinging connotation rose up once more in the last 2010’s. However, many say the rumours were wildly overblown, and that pampas grass is now back in favour because of moves towards sustainability particularly at weddings.

‘It’s become a huge craze,’ Leah Stageman, director of wedding prop hire firm Boho & Bloom told the Daily Mail. ‘It’s all part of the drive for sustainability. A lot of couples no longer want fresh flowers because of the environmental impact of growing and transporting them. People are instead opting for dried flowers such as pampas leaves that can be reused. Lots of brides are even wearing pampas headdresses on their wedding day.’

Celebrities like Stacey Solomon, Stacey Dooley and of course Mrs Hinch are all keen fans of pampas grass, cementing it’s return to our lives through their home-maker influence.

So, will the need for more sustainable home décor drive out the swinging connotation? As long as people are getting them from garden centres and not random beaches, we can hope so.

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