Common name: Showy calamint, beautiful mint
Plant type: Herbaceous perennial
Flower color: Bright pink
Bloom period: Summer
Fragrance: Tutti-frutti mint
Height: 1-2 feet
Hardiness: USDA Zones 4-9
Light needs: Full sun to part shade
Moisture needs: Average to dry; drought tolerant
Seasonal character: Flowers for 6 weeks in summer; extremely fragrant foliage; tidy habit
Showy calamint is in my Normandie garden just as it had a prominent place in my border back in Indiana. Just why this native of France and other Mediterranean countries remains such an infrequent plant in our gardens escapes me. Even if showy calamint never bloomed, I would always have it edging a path where I could brush against it to release the delicious perfume of its foliage. Although variously described as 'minty' or 'lemony', neither of these adjectives comes close to doing justice to the complex perfume of this calamint. Think of the tutti-frutti fragrance of the Juicy Fruit chewing gum of childhood (does it still exist?), add the zest of lime and lemon, then float the freshness of mint on the surface of the scent: now, you're approaching the bouquet of showy calamint.
The captivating fragrance is harbored in the modest, lightly fuzzy, toothed leaves of this Mediterranean herb. Grown in full sun, the plant has one of the tidiest habits of the perennial world. Should you desire a neat, tidy, flowering border for a walkway, that incidentally was wonderfully fragrant, showy calamint is your plant. Of course, for herb garden purists, there is no showier specimen.
Sometime in June the plant begins to bloom with dense, compact spikes of brilliant pink, tubular flowers. The display goes on for weeks, and somehow you never notice the wilted flowers, which drop neatly and inconspicuously. Even at the very end of its flowering several weeks later, showy calamint still looks tidy. Then is the moment to shear the plant back by one-third to one-half; it may reward you with rebloom if you do. The tubular blossoms are irresistable to hummingbirds.
Showy calamint is one of the easiest of plants to grow as long as you give it good drainage. In clay soils, fork in a lot of sand, and if you have automatic overhead irrigation, direct it away from this plant. Showy calamint is an excellent xeriscape plant, ideal for gardens in the southwestern U.S. In the northern part of its range, showy calamint is best grown in full sun. But in hot climates, you may wish to duplicate its native habitat, where it grows in the dappled shade of woodlands. It is not particular as to pH, as long as you avoid extremes.
Showy calamint is superbly easy to divide in early spring. You can also easily start it from seed, sown on the surface of finely sandy soil. In the northern parts of its range, it is best spring- , rather than fall-planted, in order to give its roots time to establish before the onset of soggy winter weather.
A variegated-leaf cultivar exists, with a creamy white margin on its leaves. However, it is less vigorous in habit and less prolific in its flowering--both probably simply the downside of the reduced photosynthesis of its partly-white foliage.
As an additional reward for including this plant in your garden, you can experience its fragrance on your tastebuds, for it is entirely comestible. Scatter the blossoms over a salad of garden greens, and relax after a session of weeding with a tall glass of iced calamint tea. You've earned it!
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Having a collector's mentality in my plant passion, I've had to learn how to make the best garden choices for myself and others. Here are my very favorite plants--some old, some new--but all plants that earn their place in any garden. Included are the latest and greatest plant introductions from France and the rest of Europe eminently suitable for New World gardens.
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