Calamintha nepeta subsp. nepeta

Calamintha nepeta subsp. nepeta: White Haze, Nonstop Buzz

This calamint smells like toothpaste and acts like a bee magnet. Clouds of tiny white flowers, sometimes washed pale blue, hover over grey-green leaves for months. FRESH BREATH FOR THE WHOLE GARDEN.

Plant Characteristics:

• Botanical Name: Calamintha nepeta subsp. nepeta
• Common Name: Lesser Calamint
• Height: 30–40 cm (12–16 in)
• Spread: 30–60 cm (12–24 in)
• Flowers: Clouds of tiny white flowers, sometimes tinted pale blue
• Bloom Time: Early summer to fall (June to September)
• Foliage: Small, grey-green, strongly mint-scented leaves on a bushy, mounded plant
• Features: Perennial Plant of the Year 2021

Where to Plant: Plant it at the front of a sunny border, along a path where you'll brush the fragrant leaves, in a rock garden or gravel bed, or in containers. It's a great filler at the feet of taller, leggy perennials. Put it near a patio if you enjoy watching bees at work.

Companion Plants: Let lesser calamint buzz with bees at the front of a sunny, dry bed with pink and yellow around it. Pulsatilla vulgaris 'Alba' opens white pasque flowers at 20 to 25 cm in April and May. Phlox subulata 'Drummond's Pink' carpets the edge at 10 to 15 cm with hot pink flowers in May and June. Echinacea 'Mellow Yellows' adds soft yellow coneflowers at 80 cm from June to October. Elymus virginicus stands behind at 90 to 125 cm, a native wild rye.

Plant Care: Give it full sun, or a little afternoon shade in the hottest spots. It needs well-drained soil and prefers lean to average ground over rich, wet soil. Heavy clay that stays wet over winter can be a problem, so improve drainage first. Water during the first season, then only in long dry spells. If it looks untidy in late summer, trim it back by about half to refresh it. Leave the stems over winter and cut them to the ground in early spring. It can self-seed a little in open ground.

History: Lesser calamint is native to dry, rocky sites in southern and western Europe, from the Mediterranean north to Britain, and its name comes from the Greek words for "beautiful" and "mint". The Perennial Plant Association named it the 2021 Perennial Plant of the Year.

Final Thoughts: Deer resistant, drought tolerant once settled and buzzing from morning till dusk. Plant it where you can brush past it. MINT CONDITION, GUARANTEED.