From the garden ELLEN PEFFLEY
Mint in September has spread into an attractive ground cover while returning culinary uses after harvest. There are many mints – like apple mint, chocolate mint, lemon mint, and peppermint. It is spearmint that can happily and completely populate a garden if the gardener lets it.
Spearmint can become invasive as it makes a web of rhizomes. New shoots spring up from its underground nodes, which soon develop another underground network. Depending on where this perennial is placed its invasiveness may be desirable as it produces plenty of blossoms for pollinators and plenty of tops for culinary and medicinal uses.
Gardeners wanting a source of mint without it taking over the garden bed can plant it in a container. Grow in the garden by planting rhizomes in a large plastic bucket that is sunk into the ground. The bucket needs to have drain holes.
Mint is in the Lamiaceae, the Mint Family. Members of mint family have square stalks, easily felt when twisting the stalk between fingers. They all are loaded with volatile aromatic compounds, each member has distinctly different aromatic oils and flavors. Some other Lamiaceae members are basil, germander, lavender, marjoram, rosemary, (culinary) sage, and thyme. Leaves of the different mint species may be fuzzy, shiny, crinkly, or smooth, and all green or variegated in color. Flowers that develop this time of year can be light pinkish or white that attract pollinators. The small inflorescences are 5-lobed petals, 2 facing up and three facing down, together they extend above the foliage. Beneficial insects hover over the flowering mint and butterflies, especially checkers, are drawn to them.
As a perennial mint will not fail to reappear each year. When planted in full sun mint establishes easily from rhizomes or rooted cuttings. It does need to be grown in well-drained soil. Keep foliage attractive with frequent cuttings to promote new growth.
Here is how to make a culinary favorite, home-grown mint tea, from fresh and dried leaves.
From fresh leaves. Make an infusion by adding clean leaves to boiling water. Cover and let sit for several minutes.
From dried leaves. Gently wash cuttings, with or without flowers. Air-dry mint by hanging stems upside down; dangle from rods in a dark location that has good air circulation. Strip leaves and flowers when fully dry and brittle. Store in airtight containers.
Ellen Peffley Harp, a retired professor of horticulture at Texas Tech University, writes about gardening for several Texas newspapers.
