Stachys monieri Hummelo

Stachys monieri Hummelo is a mountain woundwort. It is a cousin of bear's ears but does not look like them. This perennial is seldom used in our gardens, but is doubly interesting: first, because of its rounded mound, formed by a very green clump, and secondly, for its highly ornamental summer flowering in long spikes of bright purple flowers. This Stachys retains its large, wavy, shiny leaves during mild winters. A pretty, hardy and original plant, easy to grow in a border, rockery or container, in ordinary well-drained but not too dry soil.

Stachys belong to the Lamiaceae family, just like mints and salvias. Stachys monieri originates from Kurdistan, a country of mountains and high plateaus in Central Asia. It is a herbaceous plant with creeping stems, of medium size, with variable appearance.

The 'Hummelo' variety distinguishes itself with a very beautiful, eye-catching violet flowers. The plant measures 40 to 50cm (16 to 20in) high when in flower, and forms a well-arranged mound of basal foliage. The large, ovate to heart-shaped, bottle-green leaves are shiny and strongly veined, with a wavy appearance. From June-July to September-October, it displays flowers grouped in wide and dense spikes at the top of stems adorned with the odd small leaf. The flowers are two-lipped, with a  1.5 cm (1in), vivid violet lobe. This plant slowly forms beautiful clumps, increasing through creeping stems that root upon contact with the ground.

Stachys monieri Hummelo will naturally find a place in borders, and rockeries with Onosma alboroseum, campanulate wall bellflower or Antennaria dioica Rubra. It pairs well in beds with the pink, mauve, or violet flowers of echinaceas, monardas, veronicas, Sedum Matrona, Coreopsis... It will thrive in wild-looking beds with comfrey, borage, centaureas, catmints, and asters (Aster cordifolius, Aster turbinellus...). It adapts to many situations, so you can plant it at the base of shrub roses or with perennial geraniums.