Anise Hyssop (Agastache foeniculum) and Yellow Coneflower (Ratibida pinnata) are two native prairie plants that look good together and generally have a lot in common.
In our garden they make good companions as they provide synchronized blooms in one of my favorite color combinations.
Both plants are adapted to a leaner soil. In our garden’s rich soil they tend to grow extra tall and need support, especially the Yellow Coneflower which reaches over 5′ tall.
We keep the Yellow Coneflower upright with tomato cages – not the wide ones, but the tall and narrow ones. We don’t try to keep all the stems within the cage, but use twine to attach some of the outer stems to the outside of the cage.
The droopy rays of Yellow Coneflower are endearing, they make me think of beagles. In fact, I briefly tried to promote a new common name for this species: Beagle of the Prairie. Sadly, it didn’t catch on.
The cone looks like a clown’s nose, except that once the disc flowers mature the flowers suggest a skinny person wearing a long blond wig and a Russian fur hat.
Both plants are highly attractive to pollinators, and you may find goldfinches feeding on the ripe seeds of the Anise Hyssop. Yellow Coneflower spreads by seed and rhizome, Anise Hyssop only by seed. I have found neither to be aggressive, but I know other gardeners whose experience has been otherwise.
Incidentally, most plants sold as Anise Hyssop in garden centers are not the native species A. foeniculum. They are more likely to be cultivars, such as ‘Blue Fortune’, derived from exotic species of the same genus.
The blue spikes of Anise Hyssop are an excellent companion for the droopy yellow daisies of Yellow Coneflower. They look good together, have similar likes and dislikes, and they are popular with pollinators. Overall, an appealing couple.
gardeninacity 
Blue and Gold were my high school colors! (Gold looked yellow to me.)
‘Beagle of the Prairie’? It would not have been the weirdest of cultivar names.
Far from it.
A great combo. I have tried to get the anise hyssop going before and failed. Seeing this combo makes me want to try again. Maybe I can get them at the plant sale this weekend. I will get them a companion of Yellow Coneflower so maybe they will be happy here together.
Let’s hope so! The last few years my Anise Hyssop has been struggling a bit with insect attacks.
I like “Beagle of the Prairie!” Yellow coneflower is such so pedestrian. I love your whimsy today, first the “Beagle of the Prairie,” and then the vision of blonde wigs and Russian hats!
Whimsy is my middle name. A whimsical mind helps with garden setbacks.
I love coneflowers; we have a half-dozen native species that I can think of, and every one of them looks good with purple (or blue — your anise hyssop looks purple to me). I’ve never heard of the anise; it’s a beautiful plant, and you’ve certainly established it well!
Anise hyssop is a great plant. There are some hot-colored relatives, Agastache cana and A. rupestris, that grow in the American southwest and are known as Hummingbird Mint, if my memory is reliable.
Purple and yellow are such a pretty combination.
Yes!
Good bedfellows, they were made for each other!
Agreed!
This is such a phenomenal combo and so easy to grow!
Yes, they are both fairly easy plants.
What a beautiful garden. I like the way you have cultivated the coneflowers so that they are airy and show off well. Also really enjoyed your fur hat analogy. 😉
My grandfather was a furrier, so I see fur hats everywhere.
☺️
I too love the combination of yellow and blue – one of the newly done areas of the garden includes false sunflowers as well as a couple of nepetas and Salvia nemorosa – it’s a favourite.
Sounds like an excellent combination.
These are a great combo and now I have that Russian “hat” stuck in my brain, thank you ! LOL
I used to have blue and golden hyssop in my garden .. I don’t know what happened to them but anise hyssop is on my list for next year because I totally love that fragrance and I know the bees love that plant to bits as well. Already … I am deep in thought about next year’s garden, it never rests for long right ? LOL
I’ve heard the anise hyssop is often short-lived, but reseeds freely.
I’ve always loved yellow and blue together, and luckily there are lots of ways to make it happen in a garden.
Very true!
Blue and yellow are great together, opposites on the colour wheel
That’s what I’ve been told, but I have never really understood the color wheel.
I am not sure I do really
A wonderful combination. The coneflowers are especially eye-catching. Your flowers always get so tall!
We do like them tall!
I love native coneflower and they happily spread around my garden. Mine are the purple ones though, so these are quite interesting to me. I love your phrase synchronized blooms, I think I’ll adopt it. One of my favorite color combos in flowers as well as my paintings is blue and orange. Unfortunately I’ve not had any luck with the hyssop, I don’t think it likes either my soil or water or perhaps both. Lovely display, thanks for sharing.
The purple coneflowers are Echinaceas, a different genus. Though there is also a yellow Echinacea, called E. paradoxa.
I’m taking notes on what to do with (in my case crazy overgrowing) tall plants that won’t stand up by themselves… I love the look of the anise hyssop and always appreciate seeing it open up at the Chicago Portage. There’s a definite affinity for yellow and blue too.
With a lot of my tall plants I use tomato cages and/or various strategies for staking.
Good, I have some tomato cages I’m not using. I can see I will just have to put my foot down and not let the plants take over. 🙂
Beautiful and a paradise for pollinators! Amelia
Yes, well said!
I love the yellow Coneflowers and they are grown extensively through the Botanic Gardens in Sydney as they do a wonderful job attracting bees for about six months of the year.
Wow! They must love that climate to have such a long blooming season.
Agree re the Russian hat and clown nose…lol. Oh yes, they do make a highly attractive couple.xxx
Glad I’m not the only one who sees the hat.