Not a relative of Monkey nuts nor peanuts when it comes to colour.

You can learn strange facts about nature from Gardener’s names for the different plants. Monkey-flowers are so named because some  flowers are shaped like a monkeys face and others have painted monkey faces.  Some species of Monkey flower (Latin name Mimulus) have a wet aromatic smell hence another gardeners name ‘Musk’.
However the item that caught my attention was Monkey flowers provide for for the Mouse Moth.

Growing Monkey Flowers

You can easily grow annual Mimulus from seed and they flower in 7-8 weeks.
You can also grow perennial Mimulus cupreus or M. luteus and in mild areas another Mimulus, the Scarlet Faced Monkey flowers may be hardy.
Most Monkey flowers grow in moist or wet soils with some growing in bogs or shallow water.
You can grow from plug plants called Magic rainbow
Monkey flowers grow well and bloom in partial shade.
Mimulus genome is being studied in depth and you can find out more at the Mimulus Community.

In the meantime I wait for the newspaper headline ‘Mouse eats Musky Monkey’