Clinopodium coccineum 'Amber Blush' 25/7 Restock The flowers earn their keep

The flowers earn their keep beyond the garden as well: in Chinese tradition the buds

a compact rounded shrub barely knee-high

when the fruit arrives and the show begins

the plant drapes and tumbles in a way the wild shrub never does

Hold one of her flowers in your hand and you understand why the early painters bothered: the matte red against the gold center is graphic and arresting in a way the more ornate cultivars never quite manage

Clinopodium coccineum 'Amber Blush' 25/7 Restock The flowers earn their keep'Amber Blush' is a soft toned selection of the native scarlet calamint, Clinopodium coccineum, an aromatic, semi evergreen subshrub of the mint family from the deep sands of the southeastern coastal plain. Where the wild species flowers in hot scarlet, this apricot clone brings a gentler, more complicated color to the same tough, hummingbird loved plant. Found in the Florida Panhandle, 'Amber Blush' was introduced and shared with us by Rich