I have been thinking lately about good, easy to grow low hedges for my upper back garden. A garden center display reminded me about an old favorite–Teucrium chamaedrys or wall germander. This evergreen member of the mint (Lamiaceae) family has long been used in herb and knot gardens. From my perspective, part of its value is the ease of propagation. Like many mints it will root on damp linoleum if necessary, meaning that I can invest in a few plants and use them to grow many more.
The shrubby germanders have small, oak-like leaves and grow to be about one foot high by one to two feet in width. Their purple flower spikes, which are especially attractive to bees and butterflies, can be six to eight inches tall and appear in summer. The plants seem to be as unappealing to deer and other garden destroyers as they are appealing to pollinators.
My classics-loving daughter appreciates the fact that the genus name, “Teucrium” comes from “Teucer,” the name of an ancient Trojan king. The species name, “chamaedrys” means “ground oak.”
If all goes according to my current plants–I will order and install my first hedge germander this fall. By next year I may well be on my way to a full blown parterre.