Agastache aurantiaca

Another one of those plants where it pays to look very closely… Garden centers will sell Agastache aurantiaca as suitable for Mediterranean climates, mentioning maybe that it comes from Mexico. Looking closely however, it is native in the Mexican states of Chihuahua and Durango which are both mountainous. Thus it likes cool nights, cold winters, fresh soil. And thus it will grow and bloom in our hot Mediterranean garden, but it will never really thrive.

Agastache aurantiaca is a pretty and aromatic plant with grey-green leaves and orange flowers from June through August/September. It likes sun or half shade in well-draining soil and is pretty drought-resistant as well as very frost hardy in dry soil.