Truly "The Cat's Pajamas"

Cat’s Pajamas Nepeta, or Catmint, was the Perennial of the Year in 2021. We are more than halfway through 2022, and I am just now realizing that this honor had been bestowed to one of my favorite plants. This particular Catmint is a perennial that will never disappoint when it comes to form, fragrance, and beautiful color.

I have purchased very small starter plants of this sort... “tiny pajamas”, so to speak. In no time at all, my Cat’s Pajamas Nepeta plant-starts filled out into nice displays of beautiful lavender-toned flowers on remarkably strong stems.

Once or twice I have tugged at a mature stem on my Catmint by mistake, only to find that my pull was meaningless. This perennial sets roots with ease and then maintains its hold on the soil in which it is planted. Other plants with feathery plumes of flowers might be delicate, but Cat’s Pajamas Nepeta has a strength that is real. Even with the tugging I describe, the flowers tend to stay on Catmint. Any time I made this sort of move in the garden, the plant would not budge, but my hands would emerge from the mound of pale purple flowers with the best minty scent imaginable.

I learned about Catmint from my mother-in-law, who loved this perennial in her own beautiful garden. Her garden grew atop a shale-covered ledge. It was a real study in what can be done in an inhospitable garden environment. And while I know that love and care were part of the equation that caused her flowers to grow, choosing the right flowers was the other part. While some plants that will remain nameless (though she named them several times, with a good bit of disdain) had failed her, Catmint never had. Just as I have later experienced, Catmint somehow sets roots and holds on with an unstoppable grip. 

In that garden I knew in the past, and in my own garden now, I learned that pollinators take great notice of Catmint. Walk past it, and you will see yellow-and-black clad orbs hovering in the tiny petals of its flowers. Those winged orbs seem to love it, as do butterflies. Hummingbirds… well, I tend to look away at precisely the minute they arrive. They always escape my sight. But I am told they love Catmint too. It’s a pollinator favorite.

Now my mother-in-law grew Catmint, but I am not sure she knew of the carefully hybridized Cat’s Pajamas Nepeta. Her Catmint stems may have bent and separated a bit over time, as each growing season unfolded. But learning about this perennial late in the game, my plants are, by luck, Cat’s Pajamas Nepeta. I can assure you that they grow in spiked upright form, but their overall appearance is one of a nicely rounded plant. They keep their shape over the season, and they offer more flowers than you would ever need in order to keep your garden looking fresh and in bloom. In fact, I think of the blooms of Cat’s Pajamas Nepeta as adding a lavender-toned misty or hazy appeal to the garden. Yes, these flower spikes work together to create nicely rounded forms, but planted en masse in one or more spots in your garden, they will cast a pleasant haze over your other plants, making everything more beautiful.

Dig Cat’s Pajamas Nepeta into the garden any time you can get your hands on it. It will take hold and do well. It loves good drainage, and it thrives in sunlight. But spring, summer, or fall, find a place for it, and then sit back and enjoy. As you first become acquainted with it, try not to call Catmint “catnip”. Yes, I think we all make that mistake. And try to take in the fragrance of Cat’s Pajamas Nepeta as much as you can, perhaps planting it near a garden bench or another resting pad where you yourself will ultimately be able to spend some time in the sun.

Cat’s Pajamas Nepeta, the 2021 Perennial of the Year… I can see why this honor was bestowed. This is a gorgeous plant. Like a good mother-in-law, like the one I had, it will not disappoint.