The slender wiry stems of Calamint flow with the breezes and the cloud of tiny flowers fill the whole plant. The fragrant leaves smell slightly minty, but the plant does not spread aggressively like most mint plants do.
There is a wonderful saying that “Good things come in small packages,” and this compact plant that is covered with tiny white flowers is one of those good things!
The plants name is Calamint or Calamintha nepeta subsp. nepeta, and it was honored in 2021 as the Perennial Plant of the Year.
Thriving in full sun and well drained soils, this airy plant grows only 12-18 inches tall, spreading 24 inches wide and is covered with dainty white tube-shaped flowers from June through October, attracting butterflies and other pollinators to fill the garden with movement and colors.
The slender wiry stems flow with the breezes and the cloud of tiny flowers fill the whole plant.
The plants grow slowly by underground rhizomes, and the arching branches can spread when the tips touch the soil to root.
The plant can also spread by self-seeding in the early spring, or the plants can be cut back after flowering before the seeds are formed.
The fragrant leaves smell slightly minty, but the plant does not spread aggressively like most mint plants do. These dainty gems thrive in containers, spilling over retaining walls or gracing the edges of a sunny pathway.
There are so many wonderful pollinators that welcome the Calamint for its all summer long flowering but both bunnies and deer avoid this fragrant plant, it is not to their taste!
(Editor’s Note: Ginny Rosenkranz is a commercial horticulture specialist with the University of Maryland Extension.)
