Nepeta isn't fussy at all about what conditions it grows in, wet, dry, doesn't matter. I haven't grown Blue Wonder of Kit Cat, but my experience with growing different kinds of nepeta is that even the supposed more "compact" ones do still spread out quite a bit after a couple years. They need division and/or shearing to keep them from sprawling over the roses, paths, other plants, etc. Once sheared they come right back and bloom again and again.

Walker's Low is used a lot here in Cincinnati and in my yard; does great in full sun but also thriving in a bed under a thick crabapple, I didn't cut mine back because foliage seems to stay quite nice on Walker's Low even when not in full bloom so I just let it mound. As for Calamintha nepeta, it is an incredibly long bloomer, airy like Gypsophila but moundy like Nepeta, incredibly drought tolerant and tough.. . however, it reseeds like crazy in my yard, which is fine in the beds with bigger perennials, but tends to crowd out my lower groundcovers like Sedum and Veronica. So just be warned. Also I don't really think it pops as well from a distance and has a later bloom period than Nepeta.

N.sibirica has a running habit. N.clarkei lacks vigour. N. subsessilis is a clumper,has to be watched carefully for selfseeding, the foliage smells unpleasantly for my nose. It is robust for me. Ornamental value is average to below average , the flowers should be bluer in my opinion, and there should be more of them.

You know, Carol, there's something to be said for being as self-sufficient as one can be, given their situation. When I think along these lines, I always remember back to when I was a young Navy wife living in Oakland CA while DH was out to sea. I made friends with the others in the apartment building, who were young and poor as DH and I were. One day, as we sat around in Marjie's apartment drinking coffee, someone mentioned how hungry they were for pizza but even pooling what money we had, we did not have enough to order. So I said, "This will buy the ingredients and we can MAKE pizza!" They were all dumbfounded. It had never occurred to them pizza could be MADE. I, too, love to use whole grains but I have not begun to grind them myself. Maybe someday. I'm sure freshly ground grain tastes better. I find that a tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice added to a 2-loaf whole wheat bread recipe makes for a better rise. My favorite is oatmeal bread, but I was born a country girl from German ancestors and we have to have our bread, so I enjoy almost all varieties. I have no idea how much I spend a week for groceries because I stock up the freezer when certain things go on sale and I haven't been keeping track of it. I haven't bought a lot of groceries since March (that's when I retired and took back my kitchen from DH) as I discovered DH was forgetting what he had in the freezer and buying more. LOL! The freezer was so full I didn't have room for garden stuff, or to store extra baked goods. So we've been eating out of the freezer all summer. I do think $50 a week is low, but I don't know anything about Grainlady's family. I think she uses a lot of things that are unusual (to me) that are supposed to be more healthy, such as coconut oil instead of shortening, but I've priced most of them and they are terribly expensive. The Chia seed is not cheap, but a little goes a long way. I just don't think it's possible to feed teenage boys on $50 a week unless they're eating tons of Ramen noodles, beans and mac and cheese, and maybe not even then. LOL I do wish I had more storage space and more garden space. But, the grandson has announced he's moving back in with his mom as soon as he graduates high school, and that's this spring, so I will have less need to grow in large quantities and therefore less need for storage space. Plus I will have an empty room when he moves out of his bedroom. Two, in fact, because he has taken over the den, as well, for his video games. Maybe some new shelves will be in order, when the time comes. --Ilene