• a plant for winter interest
• drought tolerant
• pink non-dramatic flowers in June – July
• belongs to Mint family
• grey sage type leaves
• strong erect stems
• stems and seed heads last through winter and form an attractive sight when covered in snow
• requires well drained soil and sunny position

Pink flowers of Phlomis above with Campanula glomerata and Pearly Everlasting. Swallowtail butterfly photobombed.

This sturdy perennial comes back year after year and never disappoints. To be honest I am not sure if mine is Phlomis cashmiriana or tuberosa but I am not going to dig it up to find any tubers! Both are listed as Zones 4/5 but I have never had a problem with it. It lives in very well drained loam which is nearly always very dry. I doubt deer would touch it as it has grey slightly hairy, fuzzy leaves and deer will not go for plants with those attributes. There are many species of Phlomis most originating from the Mediterranean. I would recommend looking out for them and trying one even if it is not well labelled. This is how I acquired mine. It is only by experimenting that we frequently discover a plant may be tougher in cold temperatures than anyone knew. This plant combines well with other drought tolerant plants such as Euphorbia polychroma (Cushion Spurge), ‘Fescue Idaho Blue’, Campanulas, Stachys (Lambs Ears) all of which are deer resistant.