Calamintha nepeta Marvelette White - Lesser Calamint

Calamintha nepeta 'Marvelette White' is a small Calament selected for its more compact habit and its pretty white flowers, slightly larger and well distributed on its flowering stems. This small perennial plant forms a true white cloud between summer and autumn. Its small hairy leaves are very aromatic, its flowering is nectariferous and melliferous, attracting a large number of pollinating insects. In the garden, the small Calament 'Marvelette White' thrives in rockeries and sunny borders. It is a very drought-resistant plant, perfectly adapted to the Mediterranean climate. It can also be grown in pots like other aromatic plants.

Calamintha nepeta 'Marvelette White' is a horticultural selection derived from Calamintha nepeta, the false nepeta. It belongs to the large family of Lamiaceae, like mints, marjorams, thymes, sages, and other lavenders. The botanical species is spontaneous in southern Europe, North Africa, and Asia Minor. It is a rhizomatous plant with a dense stump. Its vegetation sometimes persists through winter in the south, but disappears in colder regions.

The small Calamintha 'Marvelette White' is capable of flowering just 12 weeks after sowing. This perennial plant forms a low, neat cushion in spring. The thin square-sectioned stems quickly elongate and branch out, creating a small rounded clump of about 30 cm (12in) in all directions. The leaves are very small, hairy, slightly dentate, grayish-green, and remarkably aromatic: with the slightest touch, they emit a characteristic odor, both sweet, powerful, and very refreshing. Flowering begins in June-July and continues until October, depending on the climate. It is abundant and charming: the numerous small flowers, a little larger than those of the typical species, borne in well-filled inflorescences, open over a long period. Their color is pure white.

Calamintha nepeta 'Marvelette White' is an ideal plant in dry Mediterranean gardens, but it easily adapts further north if planted in well-drained soil, not too wet in winter. Suited to arid conditions, as well as poor, limestone, and rocky soils, it excels in rockeries, slopes, along paths or borders, and between the stones of a Japanese stepping stone path. It can also be welcomed in terrace planters. Its white misty flowering is an excellent complement to many garden flowers, especially to red and fuchsia pink bushy salvias, Caryopteris, Perovskia, Gauras, and Asters. Lastly, this aromatic plant can be used dried, in small quantities, in many Corsican and Italian culinary specialties, or in infusions.