Saturday, August 29, 2009

Mexican hyssop

I'm quite fond of hyssops (Agastache spp).

Southwestern U.S. and Mexican natives, they include all sorts of delightful plants that are well-suited to our often droughty summers.

Hummingbirds like to visit their flowers, and they're drought-tolerant, which first got me interested in them , but their variety of forms and flower shapes is equally entrancing.

I planted Mexican hyssop (Agastache mexicana) in an oak half-barrel near the porch early in the summer. The hummingbirds have been enjoying it.