Both bees and cats simply adore catmint aka Nepeta.
Bee Enjoying the Catmint
Cat Enjoying the Catmint
It is a beautiful plant to use in a border. Gertrude Jekyll wrote “it is a plant that can hardly be overpraised.”
Beautiful Use of Catmint
Catmint in the Border
I find catmint easier to grow than lavender and sage. If you cut it back after first bloom, it will bloom again just as vigorously.
My favorite cultivar is Walker’s Low, which was the 2007 Perennial of the Year.
Walker's Low
The name, Walker’s Low, does not refer to the size of the plant, but to a garden in England.
Plant some catmint this summer. Your bees will thank you! And also the neighborhood cats…
P.S. One of my followers suggested I point out that catmint is deer-resistant!
Great article. I was wondering if the catmint comes in White? I have three beehives in a white garden and I would like to add catmint.
Yes, it does. The cultivar is called “White Wonder.”
Another very pretty post! This is the most enchanting blog. I love the cat photo, it reminds me of my pet cats and how they loved the garden.
Beautiful bee photo too!
You are so dear! Yes, my kitties luxuriate right in the middle of the plants. But catmint is so tough, it just springs right back…
[…] it is loyal that there are countless members of a catmint house – some precious by humans, some favorites of felines – nonetheless a doubt, a important star of any garden is one called hybrid catmint (Nepeta x […]
We saw a whole load of bees lying under a catmint hedge and several were actually dead – and obviously had been for a while- while others were in various stages of consciousness. Were they intoxicated? high? Too full to move? There were so many, it was really quite distressing to see.