Blue Fortune is an agastache, or hyssop, grown for its upright spikes of tubular blue flowers that rise above aromatic, anise-scented foliage from midsummer on. The plant stays compact and upright through the season, and hummingbirds and bees work the spikes steadily once they open.

In Birmingham the real risk is not heat but winter wet, since clay that stays soggy will rot the crown long before cold does. Plant it in full sun in the sharpest, leanest ground you have, skip rich fertilizer, and cut the old stems back in late winter.