Growing Hyssop, or to be botanically correct Hyssopus officinalis, (see the next section below as to why I clarify this) gives you a –
- flowering shrub that is pleasant to look at and smell
- bee and butterfly friendly plant for wildlife gardening
- compact evergreen hedge for an ornamental kitchen garden or flower border against a path
Why have you rarely heard of it, you may be asking yourself. And its true, hyssop is not the most commonly found of herbs at the garden centre. But it won’t be difficult to find at a plant nursery or specialist herb nursery.
But before we get onto growing hyssop in your garden, lets take a brief look at this herb plant’s history and discover why its such a useful and pretty plant to grow in our gardens today.
Is it Hyssop?
Hyssopus officinalis is a small, hardy evergreen shrub and is part of the mint family, the Lamiaceae. It is native to Mediterranean regions and across to central Asia. The name comes from the Greek ‘hyssopos’ and the Hebrew ‘Azob’, a holy herb, used for cleansing.
As well as the blue-purple flowered Hyssopus officinalis, there are also pink and white flowered forms. There is also rock hyssop, Hyssopus officinalis subspecies aristatus, which, as you’d expect, is smaller, low growing form. It looks rather like a green leaved lavender, but less straggly (especially over winter).
But the reason I ask whether the hyssop you’re looking at on a garden visit or buying, perhaps online, is this: there are other plants known as hyssop. When you want to be growing hyssop in your garden, you need to be sure that the plant is the one you wanted – which is where botanical Latin proves its usefulness yet again!
The most common confusion seems to be with anise hyssop, Agastache foeniculum which is also a member of the mint family. However unlike Hyssopus officinalis, anise hyssop is a tall herbaceous perennial. It also has purple or pink flowers and is a great attractor of bees. The aromatic foliage smells strongly of anise or black liquorice, hence the common name. It’s certainly a good garden worthy plant, but not the hyssop we’re looking at here.
How long have we been growing Hyssop?
We’ve been growing hyssop in British gardens and northern European gardens for over 600 years. The plant appears in 14th century herbals, often copied from earlier Arabic herbal and medical treatises. But it is possible that it came a century earlier via religious orders (who had contacts everywhere) to grow and use in their monastic gardens.
In its native climes, hyssop has been grown and used for both medicinal and culinary reasons for over 2000 years. For example, lepers were bathed with hyssop infused water to soothe and hopefully improve their condition.
Henry VIII had most of the ecclesiastical gardens destroyed as part of the Dissolution of the Monasteries (1536 -41) But that didn’t prevent an already useful herb from continuing to be grown in domestic gardens as a strewing herb, pot herb and for medicinal purposes. Indeed, hyssop was also a popular hedge plant in Tudor knot gardens, pre-dating Buxus.
Not being as showy as some of the other herbs hyssop took a bit of a back seat over recent centuries. Although grown in plant lovers herb gardens and botanic gardens, it has fallen out of more common usage. Which is a shame.
Growing Hyssop – cultivation
Hyssop is easily grown from seed, sown in spring. Depending where you are in the country, you may prefer to start the seeds off under cover, so as to offer the young seedlings some frost protection.
If you’ve bought the herb in as reasonable sized plants, then pop straight into the garden.
As a Mediterranean herb, Hyssop likes free draining soil and a sunny spot. And it is tolerant of chalky, sandy soils as well as those with a more neutral pH. It is also fairly drought resistant. Gardeners on wet, cold clay soils will need to either improve their soil with plenty of organic matter or grow hyssop in containers.
Flowering time will potentially be from the end of April to end of October, depending on whether its an established plant or started from seed that year. Regular deadheading will, of course, encourage more and longer flowering.
Hyssop is generally disease free.
Personally I like the slightly medicinal, camphor-like aroma, but if you’re not keen then perhaps don’t use this as a hedge plant where you’ll brush against it regularly!
NB – If you plan to propagate from your hyssop plants to grow more, and have a mix of flower colours, note that the seeds from any one plant could be any flower colour. Cross pollination is common between the plants when you’re growing hyssop. If the flower colour is important, then it is more reliable to take softwood cuttings in summer from the relevant plant.
Where to grow Hyssop – garden styles
Hyssop suits both formal and informal garden styles, largely depending on how you use the plant. It is one of my stalwarts for a low aromatic hedge along a path, as is Santolina chamaecyparissus. I do love designing a garden with herbs as well as designing herb gardens, it adds another level of interest – aroma – even if there is no intention for using the herb for culinary or other purposes.
Formal garden style uses would include: –
- low hedges
- topiary
- knot gardens
- parterre gardens
- herb gardens
Whereas informal garden uses would be in: –
- wildlife gardens
- herb gardens
- cottage gardens
- kitchen gardens
- vegetable gardens
- mixed herbaceous borders
And yes, herb gardens appear in both as they may be formal or informal in design.
As it is a compact shrub, reaching about 2 foot maximum, growing hyssop in containers also works well, making it suitable for small gardens and container gardens, whether that’s patios, courtyards or balcony gardening.
The rock hyssop is low growing and useful as a ground cover plant as well as in rock gardens.
A quick look at why growing hyssop is pleasant and productive for some of those garden types.
Wildlife Gardens
The purple-blue flowered Hyssopus officinalis is particularly popular with bees due to its flower colour. But all the hyssops are loved by bees, butterflies, moths and other beneficial insects. It has a long flowering period and feeds a large number of species. Indeed, Suffolk Wildlife trust put it in their top ten list of herbs for wildlife.
Kitchen gardens and vegetable gardens
As hyssop has flowers that are attractive to pollinators and beneficial insects it is obviously a good plant to have on or adjacent to your fruit and vegetables generally.
However, a quick dip into companion planting tells us that whilst grape vines positively thrive with hyssop planted near by, radishes do not. But it can encourage the cabbage white butterfly to lay eggs on it rather than on your cabbages (useful when it works).
and finally
I haven’t gone into the medicinal uses of Hyssop, historical or contemporary. It is still used, but I would sound a note of caution as it should not be used by pregnant women, and indeed I’d recommend expert advice before taking more than an occasional mild herbal tea. An overdose of hyssop can cause convulsions and miscarriage and you wouldn’t want to find out the hard way.
That said, it is a useful herbal remedy for respiratory complaints, and as an antiviral, when used correctly.
With regards to culinary use, you are – I hope! – unlikely to overdose so try a few leaves added to fish or lentil dishes. It also contrasts nicely with a slight bitterness when cooked with roasted honeyed carrots
How else can we inspire you?
If you would like help with growing Hyssop, for example in a newly designed herb garden or lessons in propagating your garden plants, why not get in touch? Plews is able to offer you Gardening Lessons, Garden Design, Planting Design, Garden Consultancy Visit, to suit your needs. Please check out relevant pages on the website for more details
And for further gardening advice and inspiration, check out Plews Potting Shed blogs, including the selection below and our monthly Tipsheet – You could come and find us on Instagram Pinterest and Facebook too!
Related Gardening Blogs for You from the Award Winning Plews Potting Shed
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5 Evergreen Herbs to edge your Flower Borders
Hardwick Hall Herb Garden – Garden Visit
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Creating Small Wildlife Habitats in Your Garden
