Bloom Color

Interesting Notes

Are you fascinated by the history and lore of herb gardens? With choices like medieval monastic gardens, Elizabethan knot gardens, cottage gardens, Colonial physic gardens, Chinese medicinal gardens, and kitchen gardens, you could landscape several yards and barely make a dent in the pile of books written about herbs.

The truth is, butterflies don't care how you approach herb gardening, so long as you set out their favorite nectar and larval plants. And as I've discovered on my tiny parcel of land, a bit of creative mixing can be attractive and enjoyable. Then, too, you get to spend hours explaining the history and uses of each herb to your unwary acquaintances.

Bees, butterflies, and a host of beneficial insects make their preference abundantly clear: they flock to a rich habitat of herbs, flowers and grasses, while ignoring conventional lawns and shrubs (which may offer little as nectar or larval host plants and which may contain pesticides).

If cats abound in your neighborhood, you've probably given up on raising catnip (Nepeta cataria). However, two butterfly pleasers are giant catmint (Nepeta sibirica) and Six Hills Giant Catmint (Nepeta x faassenii). http://butterflygardeners.com/herb.htm

Growing and Maintenance Tips

'Dropmore' prefers sandy, well-drained soil in full sun. Very drought tolerant. Cut back foliage to promote a new flush of growth and to prolong flowering season. Propagate by division or cuttings in early summer. Seeds are sterile. Best used as a low growing groundcover, rock gardens, or edging in the perennial garden.