Some plants ask a lot of a gardener. Anise hyssop asks almost nothing. Give it a sunny spot and it rewards you with months of purple blooms, clouds of bees, and not a single nibble from the deer. Beekeepers have called it the “wonder honey plant” since the 1940s, and it’s easy to see why. Its licorice-mint scent draws pollinators in from across a field while keeping deer and rabbits at a respectful distance, a rare combination that has made it a fixture near barns and homesteads for generations.

A Plant That Does More With Less

Anise hyssop, or Agastache foeniculum, is a hardy perennial in the mint family, native across much of northern North America, from Ontario west to British Columbia. It goes by a few other names too: giant hyssop, lavender hyssop, blue giant hyssop, though it isn’t closely related to true hyssop or to anise. The resemblance is really in that fragrant, licorice-scented leaf.

It’s not fussy. Full sun or partial shade, average soil, minimal fuss, and once established it shrugs off drought better than most things in the garden. The flower spikes hold their colour for weeks, from late June into early fall, and the plant tends to self-sow generously, so a single start can turn into a small colony without much effort on your part.

Why the Bees Can’t Stay Away

Watch anise hyssop on a summer afternoon and you’ll hear it before you see it: a steady hum of bumblebees, honeybees, butterflies and hummingbirds, all working those spikes from morning to dusk. Mass plantings were once used to support apiaries across the Midwest and Canada, and it’s easy to understand why once you’ve seen a patch in full bloom. Deer, meanwhile, tend to leave it alone entirely, kept off by that same sweet, sharp scent that pulls the pollinators in.

Did You Know?

• In 2019, the International Herb Association named anise hyssop its Herb of the Year, a recognition earned by the whole Agastache family.
  
• The purple blooms are edible too. They carry a milder anise flavor than the leaves and are often used as a garnish on salads and desserts.
  
• Its reputation for digestive support isn’t limited to North American herbalism. In traditional Chinese medicine, anise hyssop has long been used for nausea, indigestion and fever.
  
• Once the blooms fade, the plant keeps giving. Goldfinches and other small songbirds feed on the seed heads right through winter.
  
• It’s remarkably easy to propagate. Anise hyssop self-sows readily and spreads by rhizome, so a single healthy plant will often turn into a small colony on its own.

A Long History of Easing Coughs and Calming Stomachs

Beyond the garden, anise hyssop carries a long history as a medicinal herb. A few reasons we love this plant:

• Its main medicinal use is as a respiratory remedy for coughs, colds, sore throats and flu, with an expectorant action that helps clear congestion
  
• It has a history of supporting the lungs, easing colds and congestion, and offering calming digestive comfort
  
• Like other mint family plants, it calms digestive discomfort, bloating and nausea, making a cup after meals a gentle way to support gut health
  
• Modern research has also looked at its antioxidant properties, alongside its long traditional use for respiratory and digestive complaints

That’s part of why we’ve always thought of Homestead as an after-dinner tea as much as a cold-and-flu one.

Homestead Blend

• 

$11.00

Homestead brings anise hyssop together with raspberry leaf and red clover, three herbs long kept close to home. It’s a tea for the first cough of the season, a sore throat that won’t quite settle, or a little digestive ease after dinner.

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A Note on Safety

Anise hyssop is considered gentle and well-tolerated for most people when brewed as tea. As with any herbal remedy, those who are pregnant, nursing, or managing a health condition should check with a healthcare provider before making it a regular part of their routine. If you’re harvesting anise hyssop yourself, make sure you’re working with a confirmed identification and gathering only from areas free of chemical spray.

Full Circle

Next time you’re near a patch of purple flower spikes humming with bees, take a closer look. That’s the same plant quietly doing its work in your teacup, easing a cough here, settling a stomach there, the way it has near barns and homesteads for generations.

A plant that gives that much back rarely asks for much in return.


Here are some pictures from our garden and this year’s harvests:

References

1. Piedmont Master Gardeners. “Anise Hyssop.” https://www.piedmontmastergardeners.org/article/anise-hyssop/
2. Mother Earth Gardener. “Anise Hyssop: Herb of the Year.” https://www.motherearthgardener.com/plant-profiles/anise-hyssop-zm0z19fzbut/
3. Health Benefits Times. “Health Benefits of Anise Hyssop.” https://www.healthbenefitstimes.com/anise-hyssop/
4. Herbal Reality. “Anise Hyssop (Agastache foeniculum): Benefits, Safety, Uses.” https://www.herbalreality.com/herb/anise-hyssop/
5. Sawmill Herb Farm. “Herb Profile: Anise Hyssop.” https://www.sawmillherbfarm.com/pages/herb-profile-anise-hyssop
6. PMC. “Anise Hyssop Agastache foeniculum Increases Lifespan, Stress Resistance, and Metabolism by Affecting Free Radical Processes in Drosophila.” https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7772399/
7. Northern Gardener. “Anise Hyssop: A Friend to Bees.” https://northerngardener.org/anise-hyssop-for-bees/
8. Eat The Planet. “Anise Hyssop, a Fragrant and Nutritious Herb.” https://eattheplanet.org/anise-hyssop-a-fragrant-and-nutritious-herb/
9. Clemson HGIC. “Anise Hyssop.” https://hgic.clemson.edu/anise-hyssop/