Prostanthera

Mint Bush. Brought to the UK from Australia by Jeffrey Irons and sent to us from a friend in Holland. A Welsh nurseryman describes it as "a cracking plant tolerant of heavy frost and sells on sight". We love the genus with the aromatic deer proof evergreen foliage and in this case, white flowers tinged with lavender in late spring and early summer. This will get 3'-4' tall and tolerates some dry once established but does best in the usual well-drained moisture retentive soil.

Alpine Bush Mint. This high elevation Aussie handled our 2010-11 Winter of Horror with scarcely a whimper. Dense shrublet with rounded packed leaves minty when crushed and white flowers with red-yellow-purple in the throat from spring and sporadically until fall. Excellent plant.