Anise Hyssop - Herb of the Year

Many herbs get added to our herb beds by serendipity.  While perusing the farmers market or a plant sale, there is often an herb that jumps out at us – one that we haven’t seen before, and are intrigued by.  We may not know anything about it, but our plant senses tell us it needs to be ours.  So we take it home, find a spot for it and then watch it grow, all while learning as much as we can by observing it and also doing research.  This is how anise hyssop came to join the farm and her herb sisters.

Anise Hyssop is the herb of the year as selected by The International Herb Association for 2019 and then be recognized by the Herb Society of America as the Herb of the Month last year in anticipation of its big year in 2019. 

Baby anise hyssop in the greenhouse. Easy to start from seed, anise hyssop is generally an easy care herb too.

So what is it about Anise Hyssop that it deserves this recognition from these prestigious herb groups and lets it keep its spot at our herb farm?  As with so many herbs, it has a wide variety of uses.  Its tall foliage and flowers make it a beautiful background to other herbs and a striking addition to the landscape.  Indeed one of its primary purposes is as food for many types of bees, humming birds and butterflies. Since the flowers bloom from June into September, they provide food throughout the summer for these important pollinators, along with outstanding landscape color throughout the summer.

Anise Hyssop, Agastache foeniculum, is a perennial that grows between two to four feet tall with showy purple flower spikes. Neither a member of the anise family nor the hyssop family, anise hyssop is actually a member of the Lamiaceae (mint) family. Like mint and catnip, anise hyssop has square stems. The leaves smell like anise, hence the name, and are ovular and broad in shape, with fringed edges, and dull green in color.  When it is first emerging, it has beautiful purple color on the underside of the leaves.

Anise hyssop in a mixed planter with orange mint. Since it gets so tall, it's best planted near the back in your landscape.

It is native to northern parts of the United States and parts of Canada. It is fairly easy to start from seed or buy a start at a spring plant sale, then you’ll have your own seeds for planting in the fall.  It likes well drained soil and full sun.  As a native plant it is fairly hardy.  Ours grows near a fence with some other medicinal herbs: echinacea, valerian, and marshmallow.  For some reason it seems to attract the slugs in the spring and early summer – not the other herbs, just the anise hyssop.  At first we thought it was a rabbit, so put a fence around it.  When that didn’t stop the damage, we decided it must be the Pacific Northwest deadly plant foe – the slug.  Out came the organic-safe-for-all slug bait.   That did the trick and our anise hyssop was able to grow to its full beauty.  We have to remain vigilant in the early spring when it first emerges, as those first leaves seem the tastiest to the slugs.  With spring rains, regular reapplication of slug bait is necessary.  Occasionally, aphids and flea beetles are a problem, but not enough to bother with.  There is still plenty of untouched leaves and flowers for harvest. 

If you live near a wooded area, anise hyssop is purported to repel deer, so consider planting it around the edges of the yard or garden. As a medicinal herb, anise hyssop is traditionally known as a tea herb.  It was especially well known among Native Americans as a relief for congestion, helping to clear airways and lungs.  A hot infusion is said to induce sweating so is good for reducing fevers and because of this quality the Cheyenne are known to use anise hyssop in their sweat lodges.  The Iroquois made a wash with the herb to use to relieve the itching from poison ivy.  Modern herbalists use it in salves to treat wounds or as a poultice for burns.  Anise hyssop is a key ingredient in our Cold Calming Tea – combined with sage, bee balm, and thyme – it is great for the sinus troubles that seem to plague our family throughout the year.
At one of on-the-farm classes about teas a few years ago, a participant had a persistent cough.  She took a water bottle with her when she was out and about to try to relieve the cough and lessen her embarrassment. However, it just wasn’t working.  After some thought, Erin helped her to come up with a tasty tea combination of anise hyssop and sage, which did soften the cough.  She continues to purchase this special tea and is especially thankful when she is situations such as church, to be able to sip her tea and not interrupt social situations with a cough.

Dried anise hyssop next to it's herbal allies - sage and thyme.

Leaves and flowers are can both be used.  Dried or fresh they can be made into teas and for added flavor include some mint.  It makes a tasty fresh garden herbal iced tea – simply make a small bouquet of herbs from your garden patch, pour boiling water to cover, let sit for ~20 minutes covered, then strain well.  This herb tea concentrate can be diluted by as much as 50% (depending on taste), add ice and enjoy!  The flowers when crumbled made a nice addition to salads or in butter cookies.  Because the leaves maintain their scent when dried, they are good in potpourri.

So there you have why Anise Hyssop has been recognized this year.  With its beautiful flowers and many uses from culinary to medicinal, it a great choice for Herb of the Year.  Make it a part of your garden.

Fresh herbs including anise hyssop - ready to be made into fresh herbal iced tea!