I have a catmint garden for the cats.
I'm a big fan of agastaches and the ones I put in last year have taken off--great airy fountains. I'm putting in as many varieties as I can find. They bloom mid to late summer and the der don't eat them. And there is now a short version of balloon flowers in pink and white as well as blue. And I'm trying some mini delphiniums, but I'm not sure they will make it thru the winter. .

Cats, I tried agastache for the first time this year and liked it. The scent is very different; very enjoyable. I've not tried balloon flowers, but I put it on the list of things I want to try next year; thank you.

I know better than to try the delphs, but did seed some larkspur last year for the first time. They turned out so-so, but I am going to try them again.

You must have some happy cats! Are there some catmints you really like as companions to roses or are your catmints only for your cats? But wait, your cats are your roses' companions, so then the catmints are by association ... wait, I'm confused!

Gean---they are very pretty---

This year my son gave me some "Blue Casbah" which I put in a planter
They are cute and I'm enjoying them along with my other old reliables.

Florence

Your white catmint is very pretty. I love airy, billowy things in the garden. It's a very romantic look.

New in my garden this year are "Bluebird" aster. I can't wait until they start blooming! I also got four Jolly Bee hardy geraniums to line the shortish front walk to the door.

I've got more catmint (napeta) than I probably should have, and my cats pay it no attention. I always thought that cats go crazy for catNIP, not catmint. Hmmm. Any comments?

Robert

My cat loves to hang out in the garden, but she doesn't seem particularly drawn to the catmint (Walkers Low). The only plant she bothers is grass. I see her eating lawn grass and weeds occasionally.

Very charming, Gean. I have some Bee Balm, which is fairly new to the garden, planted last year. It might bloom this summer, need to check it. Last year it had a lot of mildew.

My neighbor's cat occasionally nibbles on 'Walkers Low.' I haven't been impressed with agastache 'Blue Fortune' -- the insects love it and that's a plus. I'm going to try red one next year. I liked my pinks, silene virginica and silene rexia. The s. virginica goes away at the end of spring, then s. rexia blooms in July-Aug.

Well, Robert, I was hoping that catsrose would come back and tell us about her catmint, but since she hasn't, this is what I know from reading about the plants.

1. Both are in the mint family, which also includes basil and oregano and other herbs, Lamiacaea

2. catmint and catnip are part of the genus called nepeta

3. catnip is nepeta cataria. This group is not particularly ornamental but is higher in the chemical nepetalactone, which causes euphoria in cats, but not all cats. Reaction is hereditary

4. nepeta faassenii/racemosa/mussinii are the ornamental catmints. Some cats react to catmints.

My cat, Sam, likes to smell roses and has ignored all catmint toys we've gotten him. Go figure.

kristin-flower, my cat prob wishes he could go outside, but he chases flies inside instead and watches birds from the kitchen window. We have a neighborhood cats that stalks the birds in our yard, and one is enough.

krista, bee balm is a nice plant. I hope yours blooms this summer.
mrkmr, I've not heard of a pink that blooms in July/August. I'll have to check that out. I have an early blooming one and like it. I planted the agastache tutti frutti and I agree, the insects really like it and I've seen hummingbirds there too. I really like the smell.

Thank you, Gean

I love balloon flowers too but just a warning if you have a rabbit problem. That is the first thing them seem to go for in my yard. And if I have them next to a new short rose full of tender growth, they go munch on that directly after decimating the balloon flower plants. Almost lost a couple roses from that this year.

Gean, don't know if you chanced to meet Jason and Shelby's cat who loves the catmint, but it will entice you to buy it if you do. The cat rolls around in the mint in one spot where it has flattened it all out and the rest remains beautiful and well kept. It has made its own little niche and really wallows around in it. So cute. That's why I started buying it and then I found out how pretty it is with roses. You know I am a sucker for cats and anything they like.

Krista,
If your bee balm is the species, Melissa officinalis, be aware that it is invasive! At least this is my experience in Italy and in Washington state. I have it wild here, and while I like it fine on the edges of the garden, the only place it has in the beds is where it was growing when they were made and I was never able to get rid of it. In the case of these plants I just pull the roots and cut them back now and then and they remain manageable. Bee balm is a great spreader and seeder. It is a fine plant if you have the right place for it.
Melissa

Gean, I got silene regia from mailordernatives.com (FL). The flowers are similar to s. virginica, but the texture of the plant is quite different.

Mike

Another good one that is in my patio garden - lemon balm.

Here is a link that might be useful: Lemon Balm

Thanks for the comments and suggestions, everyone.

Melissa, I've not found bee balm to be invasive here, but I pull it up a lot. Mildew is a problem like Krista said; I am trying rasberry wine this year, which hasn't bloomed yet, but hasn't had mildew either. I have my fingers crossed that it will do well.

kristen_flower, I only have one aster and like them. I'd like to try more. I hope your bluebird is lovely for you. Jolly bee has looked like a wonderful perennial to me in the catalogs; I like those geraniums but only have Rozanne.

Mike, I checked out that site and will look again later when I'm looking for more plants. I was very interested to see they sell seedling bald cypress. Someone I know grows these as dwarfs in his yard; he digs them up and cuts the roots every couple of years to keep them small. now I know where to get seedlings if I decide I'm crazy enough to try that.

The silene regia is an interesting-looking plant; thank you again for the rec. I have a couple of very dry spots that might be good for that plant.