Lamb’s Ear, a plant you can pet

On a recent trip to the San Francisco Botanical Garden, I stumbled on the niftiest plant ever. It’s called Stachys byzantina or “Lamb’s Ear”, named for the softness of it’s leaves.

And WOW are they soft.

Like petting a fluffy bunny. Or a lamb’s ear I suppose. (Never done that but perhaps it needs to be on the bucket list!) After some internet sleuthing, I think the variety I saw is Silver Carpet. It doesn’t grow as tall as other varieties. Some can reach several feet high and produce beautiful columns of purple flowers.

Here‘s more info if you’d like to grow these yourself. I definitely want to get a few. They are non-toxic for pets and have a bitter taste, so are unlikely to be chewed on. Although my cat, Grace Hopper (Gracie), is pretty intrepid so we’ll see.