{"title":"Clinopodium (Calamints)","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe calamints are the mint family at its most understated and most useful. Low, aromatic subshrubs of Southern sandhills and pinelands, the \u003cem\u003eClinopodium\u003c\/em\u003e carry small, highly scented leaves and clouds of little flowers late in the year, when the border is tiring and the pollinators are hungry. \u003cem\u003eClinopodium georgianum\u003c\/em\u003e, the Georgia calamint, hazes over in pinkish lavender through fall; \u003cem\u003eClinopodium coccineum\u003c\/em\u003e, the scarlet calamint, hangs out narrow red trumpets the hummingbirds find without fail.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eGardeners of a certain vintage will know these plants as \u003cem\u003eCalamintha\u003c\/em\u003e or \u003cem\u003eSatureja\u003c\/em\u003e, and the labels have changed more than once, but the virtues have not. The whole group is deer-resistant, drought-tolerant once settled, and aromatic enough to earn a place by a path, where a passing hand or ankle will release the scent.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"clinopodium-georgianum-hybrid-desi-arnez","title":"Clinopodium georgianum hybrid 'Desi Arnez'","description":"\u003cp\u003e'Desi Arnez' (\u003cem\u003eClinopodium georgianum\u003c\/em\u003e hybrid) turned up as a chance seedling in the garden of Robert Mackintosh, a cross of uncertain parentage that Woodlanders judged worth keeping and worth introducing. The likeliest account is a quiet romance between Georgia savory (\u003cem\u003eClinopodium georgianum\u003c\/em\u003e) and a neighboring false rosemary (\u003cem\u003eConradina\u003c\/em\u003e), two southeastern natives that seldom bother to cross the line between their genera. Botanists who keep their Latin tidy now file the result under the bigeneric name ×\u003cem\u003eClinadina\u003c\/em\u003e, which is roughly how the field admits it never saw the match coming.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe plant wears narrow, aromatic, evergreen leaves close along upright woody stems, greener and a shade broader than true Conradina, crushing to clean peppermint as you pass. The habit is improbably tidy for a foundling, holding a neat eighteen inches or so without being asked. In fall, soft pink flowers open the length of the stems.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThey want fast-draining soil and a spot in sun to light shade. Like both parents they shrug off drought, but they forgive a wetter winter than most Conradina will sit through, which is part of why this one travels so easily from the sandhills into an ordinary garden bed.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eGail Barton of Flowerplace Plant Farm in Mississippi did the work of making him known. Her husband, Richard Lowery, did the work of making him memorable, naming the plant for Desi Arnaz, one half of the most magnetic and improbable partnership in American television. A seedling born of two genera could hardly have asked for a better namesake, even with the spelling quietly rearranged somewhere along the way.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBrush past them on the way to somewhere else and the whole border goes to mint. That, more than the flowers, is why this one keeps ending up planted beside the path.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003ePhoto courtesy of Karl Gercens III\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/woodlanders.net\/blogs\/the-node\/clinopodium-the-soft-power-of-the-mint-family\"\u003eLearn more about the Clinopodium genus with our guide.\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Woodlanders","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42057843572851,"sku":"CLIN-GEOR-DESI-ARNE-01G","price":28.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0605\/7505\/5987\/files\/DesiArnezCalamint.png?v=1722700598"},{"product_id":"clinopodium-georgianum","title":"Clinopodium georgianum","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eClinopodium georgianum\u003c\/em\u003e is a low, aromatic shrublet of the mint family, prized for highly scented foliage and clouds of pinkish-lavender flowers in late summer and fall, when much of the garden is winding down. Georgia savory makes a fine edging or front-of-border plant for sunny or lightly shaded spots with good drainage, and unlike most of the tribe, this southern native will grow in heavier soils as well as sand.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eNative to the sandhills and dry woods of the southern United States, Georgia savory is tough, drought tolerant once established, and easily kept neat with a shear after flowering. The spicy, minty scent of the crushed leaves keeps deer and other browsers at a distance, and the late flowers are alive with bees and butterflies through the fall.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSite Georgia savory where the aromatic foliage can be brushed in passing: along a path, at the front of a sunny border, in a rock or gravel garden, or through a naturalized native planting. Pair with other sun-and-drought lovers such as little bluestem, asters, and goldenrod that share the late season.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/woodlanders.net\/blogs\/news\/clinopodium-the-soft-power-of-the-mint-family\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eLearn more about the Clinopodium genus with our guide.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Woodlanders","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42057845014643,"sku":"CLIN-GEOR-01G","price":27.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0605\/7505\/5987\/files\/IMG_6411.jpg?v=1775094055"},{"product_id":"clinopodium-coccineum","title":"Clinopodium coccineum","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eClinopodium coccineum\u003c\/em\u003e is a small, aromatic, semi-evergreen subshrub of the mint family, native to the deep, well-drained sands of the southeastern coastal plain, from Mississippi and Georgia down into Florida. The loose, open frame and small, spicy-scented leaves would earn a quiet place on their own, but the flowers are the event: showy scarlet tubes carried over a long summer season, held out like little trumpets that hummingbirds cannot resist.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eScarlet calamint belongs to a genus of old-world and new-world herbs long valued for aromatic, savory foliage, and the crushed leaves of this southern native release the same clean, spicy scent that keeps deer and other browsers at a polite distance. The plant is a creature of sandhills and sunny sandy flatwoods, at home where sharp drainage and lean soil defeat softer things.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eGive scarlet calamint full sun and fast-draining, sandy soil, and site the shrub where the summer-long scarlet show and the hummingbird traffic can be watched up close: a hot bank, a gravel or xeric border, a rock garden, or the front of a sunny native bed. Pair with other sun-and-drought lovers such as salvias and grasses, and let the aromatic foliage line a path where brushing past releases the scent.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003ePhoto credit to Jonas Meyer.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/woodlanders.net\/blogs\/news\/clinopodium-the-soft-power-of-the-mint-family\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eLearn more about the Clinopodium genus with our guide.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Woodlanders","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42057845145715,"sku":"CLIN-COCC-01G","price":24.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0605\/7505\/5987\/files\/5C746564-9851-451B-A8A2-96F63DB56889.jpg?v=1782135232"},{"product_id":"clinopodium-coccineum-amber-blush","title":"Clinopodium coccineum 'Amber Blush'","description":"\u003cp\u003e'Amber Blush' is a soft-toned selection of the native scarlet calamint, \u003cem\u003eClinopodium coccineum\u003c\/em\u003e, an aromatic, semi-evergreen subshrub of the mint family from the deep sands of the southeastern coastal plain. Where the wild species flowers in hot scarlet, this apricot clone brings a gentler, more complicated color to the same tough, hummingbird-loved plant.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFound in the Florida Panhandle, 'Amber Blush' was introduced and shared with us by Rich Lewandowski of Shangri La Gardens in Orange, Texas. The selection is close kin to our yellow-flowered 'Ohoopee Yellow' from Georgia, but the dark green foliage runs a little denser, and the flowers are a softer, deeper amber-yellow that warms to an orangey pink as cool fall temperatures arrive, so a single plant can shift through a whole range of warm tones across the season.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eGive 'Amber Blush' full sun and sharp, well-drained soil, and site the subshrub where the long season of amber bloom and the hummingbird traffic can be enjoyed up close: a hot bank, a gravel or xeric border, a rock garden, or the front of a sunny native bed. The aromatic foliage keeps deer at a distance and rewards a brush of the hand along a path. Pair with salvias, grasses, and other sun-and-drought lovers.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003ePhoto courtesy of Juniper Level Botanic Gardens.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/woodlanders.net\/blogs\/news\/clinopodium-the-soft-power-of-the-mint-family\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eLearn more about the Clinopodium genus with our guide.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Woodlanders","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42057845178483,"sku":"CLIN-COCC-AMBE-BLUS-01G","price":25.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0605\/7505\/5987\/files\/Clinopodiumcoccineum_AmberBlush.png?v=1722700003"},{"product_id":"clinopodium-satureja-calamintha-coccineum-ohoopee-yellow","title":"Clinopodium coccineum ‘Ohoopee Yellow’","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eClinopodium coccineum\u003c\/em\u003e 'Ohoopee Yellow' wears a contradictory name, since this is a clear, bright yellow-flowered form of a mint shrub that usually blooms in scarlet. The yellow form was originally shared with us by Ken Wurdak, who found the plant in Tattnall County, Georgia. We later lost our stock and got the clone back from Mike Creel, who had received starts from us years before. Such are plant sagas.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA showy, long-flowering native for a sunny, sandy site, scarlet calamint in all its color forms grows wild across the southern United States on deep, very sandy soils. Woodlanders introduced the several southern Clinopodium species to gardeners back in the 1980s, and stubbornly kept using J. K. Small's genus name Clinopodium while botanists spent a couple of decades insisting the genus should be Calamintha or Satureja. Now the authorities agree Clinopodium is correct. Ah, vindication.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eGive 'Ohoopee Yellow' full sun and fast-draining, sandy soil, and site the subshrub where the long season of clear yellow bloom and the hummingbird traffic can be enjoyed up close: a hot bank, a gravel or xeric border, a rock garden, or the front of a sunny native bed. Deer tend to leave the foliage alone, and the plant asks almost nothing once settled. Pair with salvias, grasses, and other sun-and-drought lovers.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003ePhoto courtesy of the \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/jcra.ncsu.edu\/resources\/photographs\/details.php?serial=418358\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eJC Raulston Arboretum\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/woodlanders.net\/blogs\/news\/clinopodium-the-soft-power-of-the-mint-family\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eLearn more about the Clinopodium genus with our guide.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Woodlanders","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42057845440627,"sku":"CLIN-COCC-OHOO-YELL-01G","price":24.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0605\/7505\/5987\/files\/Clinopodium_Satureja_Calamintha_coccineum_OhoopeeYellow.jpg?v=1722699561"}],"url":"https:\/\/woodlanders.net\/collections\/clinopodium.oembed","provider":"Woodlanders","version":"1.0","type":"link"}