Hummingbird Mint Isn’t Just for the Birds

Agastache Ava’s hummingbird mint with phlox. A lovely tall agastache.

Here’s a hard-working, easy-care perennial too few gardeners utilize. Fortunately the nurseries are pushing hard to get it better known, and breeders are bringing out new hybrids in more colors every year.

Hummingbird mint is also known as anise hyssop. It’s often referred to at nurseries by its latin name agastache. (I will call it agastache.) This intriguing plant is deer- and rabbit-proof, blooms June to fall, resists most diseases and provides sustenance for pollinators. A member of the mint family, it does well in most any sunny garden, yet never spreads, reseeds, or gets out of hand.

What’s not to love?

Make Your Own Hummer Food

If you enjoy hummingbirds, you no doubt already have a hummingbird feeder or two. Did you know you can make your own sugar water for them?  I’ve been making hummer food for years. It’s very easy and of course, cheaper. Besides, the red coloring in the commercial stuff is not good for the hummingbirds, and totally unnecessary. They will come without it.

I know they sell clear commercial solutions containing vitamins and minerals “for better egg laying”. But whenever I’ve tried it, the birds aren’t interested at all and it spoils. So I stick with homemade sugar water and trust the hummers will get enough nutrition from insects.

Here’s how to make your own.