Garden: May 2009 Archives

Spring of '07 I planted one little ninety-nine cent cup of mint. It was planted not only as an herb to use but mainly as a plant to pretty up the little rock path from the back door to the pool. It certainly has done its job. I love walking past and catching the hint of mint in the air.

It came up a fairly heavy rain last night. The night rains wash away the stale funk of heated days and usually leave cool damp mornings in their wake. This morning the mint is dancing in the air. From where I sit every once in a while I catch it's perfume as I type. It is a pleasant feeling. I always smile and feel lifted when I can catch a hint of things from the yard as they pass through the window and find me in the house. Not just the mint and herbs but other things too like the honeysuckle across the yard from our bedroom window

The under a dollar plant is now 100+ times its original size. It extends four foot in one direction and about three feet in another. I seem to have put this one in a perfect place for it to thrive. The parsley did not like being its neighbor and ran away never to be seen again.

So, here's where I need your help. We use the mint for drinks - mojitos, mint juleps, etc and for garnishes and such. However, I am not satisfied. I want to do more with it.

I will be making mint jelly. I mean, we raise lambs for goodness sake. We have to have the mint jelly. Oh, this reminds me. When the backyard initially sprount green and grew knee deep over night thanks to 15 straight days of rain (NOT complaining!) we put the sheep in the back area andlet them eat down all the green grassy goodness. Like goats they pretty much ate everything else too. They are fabulous at pruning bushes! However, they do not like the mint. They ate the peonies, the forsythia and other things along the path but gave the mint a wide birth. Interesting, no?

I will transplant some of the mint to be closer to the honeybee boxes. The mint is good for them and helps keep away mites that can make them sick.

But what else can I do with it? I need some ideas here. I do plan to invest in a new dehydrator this year but right now it seems to early to wack it out up and dry it. I save the drying for late summer.

What can I do with eight feet of fresh mint that just keeps growing?