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Thursday, April 18, 2013

My Mint Garden

Ever since I was a child I've always had a fondness of mint. I'm not sure why exactly, but it all started because my Mom had a patch of spearmint growing outback. I loved picking the leaves, rubbing them in my hands, and the smell that lingered!
I'm a sucker for anything mint. Put mint in the name and I'll buy it- mint ice cream, mint cookies, mint gum, mint brownies, mint tea, mint, mint, mint, the list goes on and on...(you get the point)!
Finally, I have my own mint garden, thus far with four savory additions: Sweet Mint, Apple Mint, Peppermint, and Orange Mint (from left to right in the picture).
They are filling in my fairy garden very nicely!
All members of the Mentha family are wonderful herbal remedies! Such medicinal properties include: High in Vitamin A and C, aid indigestion, gas/bloating, calm nerves/relax, fevers, headaches, and decongestion.
  • Apple Mint (M. suaveolens) beautiful white blooms, grows tall.
  • Peppermint (M. piperita) gorgeous lavender blooms, grows moderate height.
  • Orange Mint (M. citrata) stunning lilac blooms, creeps low and sprawls down the sides of the planter (at least did last year).
  • The Sweet Mint is a mystery. I bought it from Lowe's last year, kept the marker to put on my gardening journal (which I really need to organize one of these days), and now it's gone. I vaguely remember researching the Latin name from the marker, which escapes my memory now, that it actually isn't a Mint, of the Mentha family. However it is the true leaf used in a real Cuban Mojito. Yummy!
All members of the Mentha family are wonderful to use fresh, but can also be dried. To dry mint, like many herbs, hang bunches upside down in a dry, dark area. They can also be dried on a screen. Store dried leaves in an air tight container.
Do you grow mint? What is your favorite?
If you don't grow mint, what herb are you passionate about?

This was shared at the HomeAcre HopShare Your Cup Thursday, and the Farm Girl Blog Fest.

-Live Simple, Be Happy-
Magnolia Holler

3 comments:

  1. Growing your mints that close together you are going to end up with one type a mint. -Sandy

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    1. Yes, I figured it would take a couple years...then I'd see which type is the most overpowering. Then I'll move the others to various other places around the property. I don't mind it growing wild, we have lots of room!

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  2. I love mint but it's very invasive so it's good you have it in its own space. I do agree the peppermint will probably take over the rest. I find it to be an extraordinary bully in the garden. I treat mine like an invasive but I leave enough to do fun things with it. I had so many a few years ago I researched 30 things to do with it and wrote them up here. http://www.examiner.com/article/30-ways-to-use-mint

    I really recommend chocolate mint as my personal favorite. It's low growing and a dark chocolate green, with a heavenly scent. It grows in my shade garden as a groundcover and when the kids run through there it smells like chocolate mint brownies all through the yard! It spread on its own from another part of the yard (past a cement patio and everything) after I planted it too near the peppermint and the peppermint drove it out. It grows to be pretty tall in the sun but in the shade it's just a few inches most of the time (especially as we're always picking it and messing with it) and it tolerates any kind of abuse.

    I just discovered your blog and have been enjoying myself. :) My husband sent me the link to the red clover jelly since we've been really getting into wild edibles this year and clover was on the list. We've been making lots of dandelion syrup and it looks like a similar process. My husband wrote up the recipe for that here. http://www.examiner.com/list/dandelion-syrup-sunshine-a-jar It's really good and we use in baking like honey too.

    Off to poke around some more!
    ~Alicia

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