Go Native: Anise Hyssop
By Sonya Welter
Like all native wildflowers, the anise hyssop (Agastache foeniculum) provides food and habitat to wildlife.
But anise hyssop has another benefit: the leaves, flowers and seeds can all be used in the kitchen to make tea, sweets or marinades.
Anise hyssop is a perennial that grows about 24 to 36 inches tall and produces spiky purple flowers.
It’s native to most of Canada and northern parts of the United States, and in the wild it grows in upland forests, prairies and thickets. The flowers are a rich source of nectar, and bees love anise hyssop. Butterflies and hummingbirds will also nectar at the flowers.
True to its name, the leaves of anise hyssop have a scent reminiscent of licorice or anise, and the plant is also called “licorice mint.” The leaves can be used dried or fresh to make a spicy herbal tea.
Young leaves add a kick to mesclun salads. The flowers are slightly milder, but they add a bit of anisey flavor and flecks of bright purple color to cookies or sweet breads. The leaves or flowers can also be used in the same way you would use sage in marinades or other savory dishes.
Anise hyssop seeds can be started indoors early in the spring, or you can sow them directly into the garden in the fall for flowers the following year. As a member of the mint family, anise hyssop grows prolifically and readily self seeds. Be prepared to either let anise hyssop run wild over your garden or to pull lots of seedlings to keep it in check. You could also try planting it with other strong-willed plants.
At my last apartment, I had a wildflower bed with anise hyssop, bee balm (Monarda didyma), wild bergamot (M. fustulosa), black-eyed susans (Rudbeckia hirta). The monardas (also mints) took over most of the bed, and the hyssop and the susans filled in the space between them. In August, that bed was a butterfly magnet, and any hummingbirds that came in the yard made a beeline for it.
Anise hyssop is pretty enough for a flower bed and useful enough for the herb garden, and either way is an important food source for native wildlife.
