Getting To Know Little Lamb Lamb's Ear - Stachys Byzantina - July 2026

For years, there's been a plant that I spot in other gardens that I always admire, but don't have planted in my own garden.  It is (dare I say?) common.  

It has a lot of features that I'm drawn to:  fuzzy and (occasionally) white/grey foliage.  

I'm talking about Lamb's Ear.  

You see it everywhere, too.

Everywhere, but my garden.

However, I recently came across something new (to me):  A cultivar named "Little Lamb".  Here are the small containers of Little Lamb on the nursery table:

Little Lamb Lamb's Ear - Stachys Byzantina - on the nursery table.

Proven Winners describes it:

Velvety-soft, greenish-silver leafy plant stays compact and is great for edging, border gardens and containers.

"Stays compact".  

That part, I like. 

The small container lists it as a 'groundcover'.  See below:

High Country Gardens says: "Fuzzy, silver leaves make a splendid groundcover and weed smother."

But, they go on to brag on it even further:

The unique foliar texture and color of these plants makes them superb additions to waterwise gardens that suffer from “green blob syndrome” -- use them at bed edges, or in gardens with shorter plant material, in clusters through the bed to provide visual breaks that help other textures and colors to pop. Lamb’s Ears rank among the best waterwise living mulches and hellstrip (inferno strip) plants, and double as excellent plants for patio pots where foliar interest is needed.

"Hellstrip"?  I have one of those.  

"Green blob syndrome"?  I can see how someone might say that about parts of our garden.

"Living mulch"?  Say less.  

It wants FULL SUN, so that means that I am not putting it everywhere.  But, it can go plenty of places. 

Add it to my "next time" want list.