Ballota hirsuta

Ballota hirsuta, also known as Bristly Horehound or Hairy Ballota, is a plant of the garrigue which is extremely decorative even in winter. It forms a compact, wide clump adorned with velvety, soft greyish-green foliage. Its summer flowering is not spectacular, but it attracts certain pollinators. With its cushion-like appearance and refined colour, this ballota will enhance all its neighbours in rockeries and dry gardens, including coastal areas.

Ballota is a cousin of sage from the Lamiaceae family and shares with it its Mediterranean origin. The Ballota hirsuta species is found in the southern half of Portugal and Spain, as well as North Africa. In the wild, it grows on rocky or stony soils, in dry riverbeds, roadside edges, and uncultivated areas, up to an altitude of 1,400 m. Its hardiness is around -12 to -15 °C in well-drained soil. Long, upright wooly looking stems covered in hairs emerge from its woody crown. They are adorned with small, hairy, slightly heart-shaped, wavy, and evergreen leaves. Together, they form a dense cushion about 50 to 60 cm tall and wide, which can be maintained by pruning with shears just after flowering or at the end of winter. This is the only maintenance this carefree perennial will require. Flowering is not its main attraction, tiny tubular flowers with two purple-pink lips, surrounded by grey bracts and arranged in whorls appear in May and July.

The Hairy Ballota naturally finds its place in a waterless Mediterranean garden. It perfectly associates with rockroses, lavenders, rosemarys, and other garrigue plants. You can plant it next to gauras, euphorbias, and tall sedums, in a border for example. It also enhances the pink blooms of ground cover roses. When planted en masse on a slightly arid and neglected slope, its almond-green cushions will be stunning all year round.