Of all the crazy years to decide to bloom, my lemon verbena chose this year - the hottest summer on record and in the midst of a massive drought. I cut it back a bit in August because it was looking worse for the wear, and since then, it's put on a ton of new growth and has sprays of these fine, delicate white flowers coming from the tips of the branches. They have a nice generally floral aroma, and the native bees and flies seem to like them too.
Lemon verbena is a gangly shrub that seems to do right well in Central Texas. It's deciduous, loosing it's leaves in winter, and it's loose, arching form means that it's best placed behind other things.
People rave about using the leaves for tea, but I'm more of a black tea kinda guy. I use lemon verbena in place of lemongrass in Thai dishes, which seems to work well (though, I ought to plant some lemongrass, which also does well here with a little winter protection).
I've always heard that lemon verbena had nice little flowers. Welcome to the Grackle little flowers.
Isn't it nice that your Lemon Verbena doesn't know that it is time to stop blooming? What a beautiful delicate flower.
ReplyDeleteMy grandmother used to use a Lemon Verbena Soap. I wonder if it was made from the same plant...
ReplyDeleteDefinitely. We have lemon verbena soap and it smells exactly the same...
ReplyDeleteWhat lovely flowers. It is fascinating to me how all these different plants are thriving in the "after the drought" cooler wetter weather this year. Almost like those trees that only germinate after a forest fire...
ReplyDeleteI am always fascinated by how the weather conditions bring out the best in a pant. every year a different plant shines and this year, for you, it is lemon verbena. Pretty flower/
ReplyDeleteI love the lemon verbena! You can use the leaves in so many recipes, if so inclined, but it's a lovely plant just to enjoy in the garden, too.
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