Purr-fect catmint

Peter looks at one of the best new garden plants in 10 years

- Peter Seabrook

LAST summer, I received a couple of Nepeta ‘Purrsian Blue’ plants. This is a new ‘catmint’ introduction from North America that has proved an excellent garden plant. It grows in a neat semi-globular shape, starts to flower in early summer, and is a magnet for bees and butterflies.

The growth is quite upright and self-supporting, unlike the traditional kinds that grow quite long and flop about. Once the first flush of flowers is past its best, trim ‘Purrsian Blue’ back and in no time it is back into a neat, free-flowering habit that lasts into late autumn.