With a blend of annuals and perennials, your garden can be a riot of colour all year round. Perennials are a particularly worthy addition to any garden because of their long-lasting nature. They add texture and structure to your borders and attract bees and butterflies to your garden.
When choosing the best kind of perennials, one stands out for its vibrant display. According to a gardening expert at Southern Living, Catmint is “one of the least fussy perennials” you can grow, as it readily adapts to various conditions and soil types. While patience is often required when dealing with many perennials, with gardeners saying they “sleep, creep, leap, Catmint is a reliable choice that typically offers lavender-blue and pink flowers from the first year.
Newer varieties of Catmint grow in a neat mound, and “lavender, blue, or pink flowers last for weeks from spring to late summer”, according to Southern Living.
However, even as an easy-to-grow plant, Catmint has some basic needs to flourish, reports Devon Live.
It flowers best in full sun and average to poor, well-draining soil with a pH of five to eight. Use it in borders with other perennials or as informal edging as an alternative to lavender.
If you trim the flowers after their initial burst of colour, you may stimulate another growth spurt later in the season.
Most Catmint varieties thrive in dry soil, but Nepeta subsessile, Nepeta Kubica, and Nepeta nuda prefer moister soil. Plants can rot, die in permanently wet soils, and struggle in deep shade.
The name Catmint is not without reason – some cat toys are filled with dried Catmint leaves. It’s safe for cats to nibble on; some are so fond of it that they might flatten the plants in excitement.
This gorgeous plant pairs perfectly with European sage, a perennial that thrives in the same growing conditions as catmint. Additionally, Lamb’s ear, with its soft green leaf, beautifully complements Catmint’s blue flowers.