Savannah, GA. A cool plant that you can eat (according to most websites although a few sites caution against ingesting it), keeps rodents and deer away from your landscaping, repels ticks and mosquitos, and will protect you from vampires. Why doesn’t everyone have one, I wonder?
In South Africa, they are even planted around houses to keep out the deadly mamba snake (if you remember the skulls and crossbones snake rating used at the Serpentarium in Wilmington, the mamba gets 5 skulls indicating the most dangerous of all snakes). And as an added benefit, they attract butterflies and hummingbirds. Way cool.
Society garlic, a perennial from South Africa, has a garlicky odor and taste with a pretty lavender flower that can decorate any salad or plate of food. The leaves can be eaten in place of chives and they are easy to grow. While they are not tolerant of really cold weather, this particular plant has thrived in Savannah, GA which gets pretty chilly.
So what is not to love? Especially the vampire part. And why do vampires stay away from garlic? Well apparently vampires have an increased sense of smell so the odor of garlic keeps them at bay. Works for me!