Tag: herbs
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Calamintha nepeta
One of those plants that “ought” to work here but just didn’t. Calamintha (or Clinopodium) nepeta is a minty herb, growing across the Mediterranean and North Africa, as well as in more Northern regions. It grows on moderately dry rocky terrain and walls and loves alcaline, calcareous soils. Technically perfect conditions for it to grow…
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Vitex agnus-castus latifolia
Vitex agnus-castus is a native of the Mediterranean region, known since antiquity and always believed to be an anaphrodisiac (“chaste tree”), although this has never been scientifically proven. It is widely cultivated in warm, temperate regions, loves full sun, a well-draining, loamy, neutral to alcaline soil, and is hardy to −15 °C as well as pretty…
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Verbascum
Verbascum is a family of over 400 different species of flowering plants, commonly called mullein, some of which are used in herbal medicine. Verbascum species are native to Eurasia with the Mediterranean being the home of the largest number of varieties. But despite this and despite Verbascum being well-suited for dry and chalky soils, I’ve…
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Hyssopus officinalis
Native to Europe and the Middle East, Hyssop has been both a kitchen and a healing herb since the Middle Ages. In the garden it is a small woody (sub-)shrub (about 45×45 cm), with semi-evergreen aromatic foliage and purple or pink flowers from June through July or even through September in less hot regions. It…
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Nepeta
When I came here I had some bad memories of Nepeta becoming the mangled victim of deadly cat passion with my own and the neighbors’ cats rolling around on it, digging it out, eating it up, and finally killing it. But it turns out that not all cats are created equal regarding the effects of…
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Melissa officinalis
Melissa officinalis is a Mediterranean native, naturalized around the world. In rich soil and a temperate climate like in my former garden in Switzerland it can spread aggressively, like mint. Here in this Mediterranean garden it never moves much beyond the lovely bright-green clumps that were already here when we moved in. If wanted for…