All gardeners love low-maintenance plants. Whether this is your first year gardening or you’ve been doing it for decades, plants that will thrive in almost any conditions likely take up a significant area of your garden. However, you still want to choose your plants carefully and consider what you want to attract to your garden and yard and what kind of blooms you want to look at when you admire your handiwork. A low-maintenance plant that checks a lot of boxes for new and experienced gardeners alike (and is a New England native plant!) is Golden Jubilee Anise Hyssop.
Also sometimes called Giant Hyssop or Licorice Mint, Golden Jubilee Anise Hyssop gets its name from its mint-scented leaves that emerge golden in spring and then turn chartreuse throughout the season. It is most easily recognized by its lavender-blue blooms that last from summer into early fall. The flower “spikes” rise above the foliage, creating a varied effect with just a single plant. The flowers also attract bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds, bringing even more life and activity into your garden.
Planting Tips
Golden Jubilee Anise Hyssop is a dense herbaceous perennial that tends to spread outward as it grows. The plant will reach a spread of about 24 inches and also reach about 24 inches in height. The flowers add about another 8 inches of height. Golden Jubilee Anise Hyssop is a versatile plant that is great for mass planting, general garden use, herb gardens, and container planting. It grows quickly, and under ideal conditions it can last for about five years.
What really makes this plant ideal for New England gardens is its ability to thrive in most conditions. We really love our trees in New England, so many properties have a lot of shade and even some areas that never receive full sun. Golden Jubilee Anise Hyssop can grow in full shade or full sun, so don’t let a shady yard deter you from adding this plant to your property. It also does well in both dry and moist growing conditions, making it a drought-tolerant plant. Whether it’s a dry year or you are inconsistent when it comes to water, this plant will still grow. Just be sure to check it after heavy rain or if your garden tends to be damp. This plant won’t tolerate standing water.
Benefits for Your Garden
Other than being low-maintenance and easy to grow, why should you add Golden Jubilee Anise Hyssop to your garden? As we mentioned before, the flowers attract bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds, but another great benefit is that the deer tend to leave it alone. Deer find the mint taste of the leaves unpleasant, so they are more likely to pass it by in favor of tastier plants. If you’ve had problems with deer eating your plants in the past, try planting this hyssop variety to see if it deters them.
Beyond the critters it can attract or repel, Golden Jubilee Anise Hyssop is also great for creating striking compositions in your garden. On its own, it has a medium texture that tends to blend into its surroundings, but you can easily balance it by planting coarser or finer plants nearby.
Add Native New England Plants to Your Garden with Studley’s
At Studley Flower Gardens in Rochester, New Hampshire, we have a selection of plants to fit every gardener’s taste, skill, and growing conditions. Our wide variety of native New England plants offers options that will thrive in your yard while allowing the local ecosystem to flourish. Visit us to consult with our team of gardening experts, and we’ll help you find the perfect plants to add to your garden. You can also use the Plant Finder tool on our website to search for native New England plants that will thrive in your garden’s conditions.
- Tags: flowers, native plants
More from Our Experts
Fresh Blooms, Fresh Ideas
