The Quiet Charm of Nepeta ‘Six Hills Giant’

Among Heligan's sun-warmed paths and borders, where the beauty of heritage planting meets the soft hum of pollinators, a gentle bloom has taken centre stage: Nepeta ‘Six Hills Giant’. With its tall, airy stems and hazy lavender-blue flowers, this perennial has long been a favourite among gardeners, and this week it’s making its presence known in two distinct parts of the gardens.

In the Flower Garden, you’ll find Nepeta mingling amongst the roses - a timeless pairing that speaks to traditional English garden design. The soft, dusky purple of the catmint plays off the rich hues of the heritage roses, while its scent and open flowers attract bees and butterflies in abundance. It’s a practical partnership, too: Nepeta is known to help deter aphids, offering a gentle kind of garden guardianship alongside its beauty.

But perhaps its most striking moment right now is in the Kitchen Garden. As you pass under the apple arch and walk towards the Melon Yard, take a moment to glance to your left. There, nestled at the intersection of the main garden paths, a large, gently billowing patch of Nepeta draws the eye - quietly flourishing, offering its blooms to bees, and catching the morning light with a silvery shimmer. It’s easy to walk past it if you’re focused on the straight lines of crops, but it’s worth slowing your pace to admire it.

Traditionally used in cottage gardens and kitchen plots alike, Nepeta ‘Six Hills Giant’ has the relaxed sprawl and soft scent that once made it a staple near doorways and vegetable patches, where its aromatic foliage was welcomed by humans and pollinators alike. Its inclusion at Heligan reflects not just a love for useful beauty, but also a desire to keep the gardens humming with life.

There may be grander blooms or more dramatic colours catching the eye at this time of year, but Nepeta has a kind of quiet elegance that rewards a closer look.