I've had one in place for 3 or 4 years, and it's hasn't made much of a difference. Definitely not a lush impactful plant (imo).

I've thought about Nepata, but have no experience with it. Do Nepeta's invite cats to roll around on them and do they reseed all over the place? I guess those two things were my main worries from experience with their regular cat nip cousin. My garden cat of course would welcome another form of cat nip to play with, but I've always wondered if their relative Nepata would be as enticing...........Maryl

Some catmints do attract cats rolling (to their detriment, I don't think all do. Research if interested.

Thank you dbarron. I do appreciate your experience with Caryopteris. My take on the one I had long ago was about like yours. Ho hum. But that was an old cultivar, so was hoping they had improved upon it..............Maryl

I saw a Caryopteris Grand Bleu at a Home Depot last summer. It was so beautiful, it stopped me in my tracks. Covered in royal blue flowers. I wanted to get it, but it was swarming with bees. I was too scared to touch the pot :P

Too bad you didn't get it. Bees drunk with pollen are highly unlikely to bother you. I have gardened surrounded by bees all my life--over 50 years--and have never once been stung.

I had several gold leaved caryopteris shrubs, and the gold foliage was very nice against the green foliage in the bed, but it really helped the deep blue flowers show well. It has been a number of years since I bought them, but my memory is that mine is Caryopteris incana Sunshine Blue.

I decided that until I can see the newer cultivars of Caryopteris in person I will wait to try one. Instead this year I bought a couple of Sunny Border Blue Veronicas. Now there's a showy blue perennial that I've grown in the past that flowered for me almost non-stop until fall..............I also see there is a pink Caryopteris available now. Again, I will wait to see it in person. you just never know how color enhanced some of these pictures are or the time of day the flower was photographed at. 8AM versus 4PM in our hot summer climate can definitely make a difference in color retention.......Zeke: I've heard of the Caryopteris variety you mentioned and went to Home Depot yesterday to see what was there. They don't have much stock in yet, so I will try again later...........Babs: I'm afraid the yellow foliage is not what is needed as the backdrop will be a yellow house. Thanks for the information anyway...............Maryl