Why Catmint is My Favorite Cottage Garden Perennial

June 26, 2021. It was a long time ago when I first decided I wanted a cottage garden full of pretty flowers. After researching what flowers were considered classic cottage flowers I came up with a list of candidates. Catmint was on the short list resulting in a row of catmint being planted at our first little bungalow home. The catmint was beautiful! One season of this hardy perennial was all it took to convince me of its rightful place in any cottage garden. Look at pictures of English cottages and you are sure to come across tall waves of purple blue catmint. It is just charming. There are some other good reasons for choosing this flower. Catmint is my favorite cottage garden perennial for a few good reasons. Hopefully, I can convince you to add this to your garden.

Why Catmint is my Favorite Cottage Garden Perennial

Bees love catmint. Bees are a top concern, and we want to provide spaces for them to thrive. Our catmint stays buzzing with bees- All. Day. Long. A row of this herbaceous perennial is the equivalent of putting out a huge bee feast. Therefore, if helping bees is a priority for you then I completely recommend this plant.

Catmint is hardy. Really hardy. This perennial has grown well in a couple of different gardening areas for me including cooler temps at higher elevations. Rarely do I lose a plant. Each fall I prune it to the ground. And each Spring it comes back full and tall. This perennial also tolerates some shade eliminating the need for a full sun area. Catmint is also super easy to care for. Additionally, this plant is disease resistant. I’ve never had a problem with this one- ever.

Catmint helps keep the slugs away. When we first bought our riverside home I quickly learned about the mutant river slugs. When desperately researching how to destroy slugs I learned that my favorite perennial was also a slug deterrent. Therefore, I loaded up on plants for a riverside hedge to protect my garden. As a result, I now have far fewer slugs.

Catmint is inexpensive. This is a bang for the buck. For $7-8 I get a large adult plant. However, the younger ones are only a couple of dollars. On the other hand, buying the smaller plants mean that they will take about a year to grow to full size. So, keep this in mind when choosing.

Catmint blooms twice! Once your catmint has finished its first bloom go ahead and give it a trim because it will grow a second round of blooms! This flower is one of my longest lasting in the garden with the amount of flowering it does.

Catmint is beautiful. When planted as a hedge catmint creates a gorgeous blue-purple border for any home. It will add that cozy cottage flair to your yard. It is a lovely and low maintenance addition to any yard. Sometimes when having my morning coffee outside the hummingbirds will come pay a visit to this reliable flower. It is a treat to see such a beautiful part of the garden alive with bees, birds, and butterflies. Certainly, that is reason enough to plant at least one catmint, if not more. But mostly, I love the cozy cottage ambiance they provide.

Have a beautiful day!