iStock/Nils Jacobi
Are you delighted by an easy-to-grow plant species that comes back year after year and blooms from late spring into fall? Are you looking for a variety that looks beautiful in mass groupings or on its own? Perhaps, you are in the market for plants that attract pollinators or even one that is pleasing to you and your cat. Look no further than catmint.
Its lavender blooms and soft, mint green leaves hold the chemical compound nepetalactone, which protects the plant from being devoured by pesky insects. As fate would have it, this chemical closely resembles the feline sex pheromone as well. (Even tigers and lions will respond favorably to its scent.)
To Note: Catmint is not the same cultivar as catnip. Both are in the Nepeta genus and look quite similar. Catmint is in the hearty mint family, so you don’t have to worry much if your cat rolls around or takes a nap on this low-growing, flowering perennial; it should bounce right back.
Alison Feik of Excelsior has a degree in landscape architecture and holds a wealth of knowledge about local plants and gardening. Grow more at beingstronginnature.com.
