All anise hyssop varieties (like the one pictured in the image below) produce spikes covered with whorls of tubular, two-lipped flowers, similar to other members of the mint family. But unlike other mints, Agastache species are happy in a drought.

This herb brings long-lasting texture and color to the garden and lends a minty-anise flavor to foods or honey. The flower spikes dry well for arrangements and wreaths, and the scent is potpourri worthy.

Anise hyssop has relatively tiny, tightly packed flowers of a somewhat faded lavender that look like a mauve bottle brush. The toothed leaves look similar to those of lemon balm and some other mints, but they smell like anise when crushed.

Hardy through Zone 4, anise hyssop is happy in dry, relatively poor, slightly alkaline soil and full sun (shade makes them floppy). Plants are easy to start from seed, will bloom in their first year, and tend to reseed.

Click here to find out what Zone you are in.