Merry mint

Mint dances happily across the garden with it many colours and scents. The range is amazing and each species has its own unique scent that livens up your life. Peppermint, spearmint, pineapple mint, common mint, penny royal mint, wild mint, chocolate mint…wow! The botanical name Mentha is given to mint species. There are hundreds of varieties.
Plant pieces of root and keep moist till it takes. Mint enjoys a damp environment and likes shade or sun. If it is grown under a tap it is happy to catch the extra water that falls there.

Penny Royal mint makes a fantastic path plant, it enjoys being walked on and sends up it heady smell to soothe you after a hard day.
Mint can ‘take over’, so it needs to be ‘weeded’ if it seems to be getting out of hand. Sometimes it is best grown in a pot, to keep it from invading.

Mint is a pest repellent and Cabbage, Tomato, Chamomile and Zucchini really benefit from being close by. Mint especially keeps the white cabbage moth away. Strawberry and mint do not get on well together.
Besides being an insect repellent, mint is a great herb and culinary friend. You must be careful of using mint when you are pregnant, as it is very strong. Penny Royal Mint is known to cause spontaneous abortion in animals. A mint tea can help cure colds and flu. It is great to help indigestion, flatulence and nausea. Mint can be used to clean the breath and the skin. A few leaves in your bath refresh you after a long tiring day.

Mint can be used to flavour food, sweet or savoury. Mint jelly and leg of lambs are inseparable. Mint in puddings and ice cream is a treat. A leaf or two in a salad or a salad dressing makes a refreshing change to the norm. You can use Mint to garnish all sorts of food.

Let’s get Italian with mint:

Piselli alla fiorentina
Spaghetti
Onion
Oil for frying
250g Ham
2-3 tablespoons water
1 cup of Peas
2 sprigs of Mint
2 cloves of Garlic

Cook the pasta till it is ‘el dente’, while it is cooking, fry the chopped onion in oil in a pan, add the chopped ham and then the peas and water, add the mint and garlic and add to the pasta after you have strained it.

This simple dish is so tasty, everyone will want more.