The flowers of Agastache aurantiaca
I would call this orange hyssop, but this plant is generally sold as orange hummingbird mint (you can guess which name would likely sell more plants). It’s native to Mexico, but grows on mountains, so it performs well as a perennial in more temperate climes. Like most members of the genus Agastache, its foliage is aromatic when crushed, but I wasn’t able to identify a related scent to be able to describe it to you. I’ve read “anise” and “licorice” used to identify the scent, but that wasn’t my experience.
Botany resource link: Illustrations of Carex spp. (sedges) from Mackenzie’s North American Cariceae. UBC Botanical Garden received Mackenzie’s two-volume set as a donation yesterday. I was pleasantly surprised to find the illustrations from this magnificent work available online.
I thought it had a mint over-tone for the most part. After wandering around the garden center more and finding the “anise – licorice” variations, I found myself believing the scents were “married”. At home, YET another smell seemed to emerge…the sligthest hint of lemon.. All the most wonderful fragrances rolled in to one. This truly is a hard one to put your finger on! All I know is I CAN’T SEEM TO KEEP MY FACE AWAY FROM IT!!!!!
I’m continually amazed by the diversity of the plant world. As I started to slowly scroll down through the photo, I thought, OK, a little cluster of plummy-coloured florets or something… and then this incredible orange tube appears, and never seems to end! Understandable, how the hummingbirds would feel about this one.