Perennial Profile: Catmint 'Walker's Low'

Catmint is an easy to grow, long flowering perennial for sun or partial shade. The gray-green foliage gives way to blue-violet flower spikes in early summer and last through the fall. This plant is not terribly picky about soil and, in fact, will become leggy and less attractive with too much fertilizer. It's also drought tolerant, but puts on it's best show with adequate moisture. 

Despite this plant's name, it is neither low nor overly attractive to cats. The name, "Walker's Low" is after a garden in England and has nothing to do with the size of the actual plant. That said, Walker's Low is one of the more compact varieties of catmint but will still reach heights of 24-36" with an equal spread. As for it's common name of catmint, it's true that this plant is attractive to cats (we can attest to that as the cats in the greenhouse like to frolic in it), however, it's not nearly the same attraction as to it's close cousin, catnip. It's safe to plant this in your yard without fear of hanging an open invitation sign to all the neighborhood cats. However, this plant will attract an abundance of flying critters in the form of butterflies, moths and bees. Catmint has also been said to deter rodents. 

Catmint is good along borders where it can trail over the edge or as a companion plant to roses. The blue-violet flowers are a beautiful color to combine with yellow or orange flowers for a striking garden show.