Teucrium chamaedrys, or Wall Germander, was going to be a component of the knot garden that I talked about creating for so many years but never did.  Talk alone has never has accomplished much in the garden, and even though I never created that knot garden, I still have the Wall Germander.  Wall Germander is a sub-shrub, sometimes referred to as "Poor Man's Box," as a substitute for the more expensive boxwood, and it was also used medicinally for treating gout and gastric distress.  This European native has glossy, deep green leaves and pink flowers in summer.  After flowering, you can give it a good pruning to keep in tidy or for making your own knot garden.  Wall Germander grows from 6-12 inches in full sun and well-drained soil.  Not only is it pretty to look at, but it's a bee and butterfly magnet to boot.  Zones 5-9.   (Germander is the darker green in the photo; boxwood is the brighter green.  Isn't this just the best thing you've seen lately?  Photo by Rasbak, from Wiki Commons.)

I have grown this showy Germander for so many years that I had completely forgotten its name until recently.  Could it be some type of Veronica, I wondered?   Close, but no cigar.  This is Teucrium hircanicum, also known as Wood Sage and Caucasian Germander because it is native to Western Asia and the Caucasus Mountains.  Now that one of my life's great mysteries is solved, I am pleased to add this lovely Germander to my plant list.  Even without the many spikes of densely packed magenta flowers that last for a very long time in summer, the slightly hairy, crinkly leaves keep this long-lived perennial attractive.  Teucrium hircanicum grows to about two feet in full sun to light shade, with colorful magenta spikes adding another 8 - 10 inches.   Zones 5-8.  Quarts.