Growing concern

SIR – Until you reported (May 31) that the presence of pampas grass signals that a house’s residents are swingers, I cannot say that I particularly noticed the plant.

I now see my neighbours with eyes anew. The vicarage was perhaps a surprise, but the magnificent display of pampas outside the residential care home raised an eyebrow. Stephen Knight

Barnet, Hertfordshire

SIR – In its Seventies heyday, pampas grass was ubiquitous because it was the only species widely available.

Its fall from grace may be partly due to its association with swingers, but surely a bigger factor has been the rise of the “prairie” or “new perennial” style of gardening. Its mix of perennials and grasses has resulted in a huge variety of species being sold in garden centres and nurseries, all of them more attractive and easier to manage than pampas grass. Karin Proudfoot

Fawkham, Kent