Supercharge Your Low-Maintenance Garden With This Showstopping Plant — Agastache Blackadder

Huge bumble bee feasting on the violet flowers of agastache Blackadder. Photo by Rowan Ambrose

You Will Fall In Love With Agastache Blackadder Because

It has fabulous frothy indigo spires towering above deliciously scented lemony mint foliage. Its gorgeous bottle brush flowers are irresistible to bees and other valuable pollinating insects.

Compelling special features

Spires of agastache provide some welcome height in a tiny garden. Ruffled cherry-pink flowers of Japanese anemone ‘Pamina’ are to the back left. Photo by Rowan Ambrose

Agastache Blackadder is a very low-maintenance hardy perennial. It will die back in the winter, but it’ll sleep safely underground until spring.

The spicy citrus fragrant foliage appears first. Delicate apple green leaves with fine serrations along the edges.

And then it starts to grow up…and up.

Creating height is an important part of good garden design. Agastache Blackadder will help you out here.

It will grow to at least 1m high and punctuate your garden like a vibrant exclamation mark.

By midsummer, the soft fluffy heads will be densely packed with intense violet flowers. They will open over a long period of time — sometimes lasting months in a good season. Each one stuffed full of nectar and pollen for the bees.

Their statuesque height makes a great contrast if you’re growing shorter plants, like nepeta or geranium. They make a fantastic companion for roses too.

Compelling special features score: 9/10

The Nitty Gritty

Honeybees also love agastache. You’ll be supporting many pollinators when you choose this beautiful plant for your low-maintenance garden. Photo by Rowan Ambrose

Agastache Blackadder is a very low-maintenance plant. But it does need full sun to reach its peak flowering potential.

If your garden is a bit exposed or windy, you may need to stake it to offer some support. I’ve staked mine after a summer storm, but I usually don’t need to.

Agastache Blackadder is a perfect choice for your container garden.

It will love being planted in good quality compost mixed with horticultural grit to improve drainage.

As with all plants grown in pots, it will need regular watering in the summer.

You don’t need to cut it back when it stops flowering. The dead stalks can provide valuable winter shelter for tiny insects.

A frost spangled agastache is a beautiful sight too.

Nitty Gritty Score: 9/10

Overall Wow Factor

The tiny flowers on a spear of agastache open gradually, giving you weeks and weeks of interest in your easy-care garden. Photo by Rowan Ambrose

With its soft and fluffy rich purple flower heads and scented foliage, agastache Blackadder will be a superb addition to your easy care container garden.

You’ll delight in watching grateful bees feasting on the abundant nectar and pollen.

Overall showstopping score: 9/10

Glowing spires of agastache will brighten your midsummer garden for weeks. Photo by Rowan Ambrose