The Catmints

Salvia , sage; Lavandula , lavender; Monarda, beebalm; and Thymus, thyme, they are characterized by fragrant foliage

In my home garden, Nepeta racemosa ‘Walker’s Low’ is intermittently planted with the smokey purple spikes of Salvia ‘Caradonna’.

‘Walker’s Low’ has silverygrey aromatic foliage that is clump-forming and is covered in spikes of sky blue flowers to two feet in May. While the ‘Caradonna’ from time to time will get browsed by the deer, the ‘Walker’s Low’ is completely deer resistant. Over the course of the summer, the foliage can get discolored and look at little “ratty”. This is easily remedied by giving this perennial a “haircut” in late summer. I simply gather together all the stems and using my pruners cut the entire clump back to six inches from the ground. Quickly the stems will resprout and your clump will be attractive and manageable for the rest of the growing season.

‘Six Hills Giant’ is even more robust than ‘Walker’s Low’, reaching a similar height but with an even greater spread. ‘Junior Walker’ is more compact than ‘Walker’s Low’. Nepeta x faassenii ‘Kit Kat’ is another compact selection.

All of the aforementioned catmints or catnips are spreading types. They can be effectively used in large masses as a quasigroundcover, but are equally effective used to cover ground around other perennials. At the Scott Arboretum of Swarthmore College Rose Garden, it is used as underplanting for many of the roses and can be treated in such a way under other masses of ornamental shrubs. In the vegetable garden it can be effectively used as a plant to edge walkways and pathways.

Other more upright species exist as well. Nepeta govaniana has soft sulfur yellow and grows to about two feet tall. Growing a little tall and with a more robust stature is Nepeta sibirica ‘Souvenire d’Andre Chaudron’ which reaches three feet tall, and the comparable N. yunnanensis which tops out at four feet tall.

With increasing deer pressure in the garden, and drought throughout the growing season becoming more and more impactful, we need to have a good selection of ornamental plants to combat these impacts. All of the Nepeta species and cultivars have proven to be completely resistant to deer browsing. And most of the types are also very resistant to drought.

The spreading types are a great accent to any landscape or perennial garden. The upright types like N. sibirica and N. yunnanensis combine beautifully with other perennials like Salvia ‘Caradonna’, the fine foliage of the ironweed, Vernonia lettermannii ‘Iron Butterfly, ornamental grasses such as the Mexican feather grass,

Nasella tenuissima ; switch grasses, Panicum virgatum and the prairie dropseed, Sporobolus heterolepis

Many of these selections are easily accessible at local garden centers or local growers or mail order nurseries that focus on the production and sale of herbs. A lot of local municipalities also have herb sales in the spring.

Editor’s Note: Andrew Bunting is Vice President of Horticulture for the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society. He is one of the most recognized horticulturists in the Philadelphia, Pa., region and a highly regarded colleague in the world of professional horticulture. Bunting has amassed a plethora of awards, including the American Public Gardens Association Professional Citation, Chanticleer Scholarship in Professional Development, Delaware Center for Horticulture’s Marion Marsh Award, and the Certificate of Merit from the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society. In addition, Bunting has lectured extensively throughout North America and Europe, and participated in plant expeditions throughout Asia and Africa. Learn more at https://phsonline.org/team/ andrew-bunting