Mint, you get a bad rap so often. You take over like a weed many gardeners say. Your fragrance and flavor is very strong, so use it lightly chefs recommend. But to me, you are the social butterfly of the garden.

At any good party we need at least one social butterfly that livens up the gathering with their talkative, amicable, and fun presence.  These personalities mingle easily with everyone and make people feel warm and special. That’s what you are mint, a social butterfly in the garden.

Mint, you like to mingle with all the other plants in your vicinity. You make them look more special when you are around because you provide a lovely green backdrop for their colorful leaves, flowers, and textures.

Without you mint, there would be a lot of pretty flower color, but not a lot of socializing.

When you spread your beautiful minty green leaves and lovely fragrance to talk to your plant friends, they look more assured in your presence.  It’s as if you are giving them all a big hug.

Mint, you are not glamorous – sorry, that accolade goes to the rose. Notice how even in this mint bouquet all eyes go to the rose? But you know, even among people not all glamorous people are outgoing and social.

Rose is glamorous for sure, but with her thorns and her “look at me” personality she can be intimating sometimes. Even I am reluctant to cut a beautiful rose bouquet because she looks so gorgeous on her bush.

You mint on the other hand make the glamorous roses talk to each other, just by your mingling among them. With you around in a bouquet, roses look more social and approachable, as do flamboyant dahlias and other boisterous flowers.

In my opinion mint, the way you grow you look like you are reaching out to all your gardening buddies to talk to them. You can’t get enough socialization – you are a people person – I mean, a plant loving plant.

You even like to mingle among your competition – your herb buddies with whom you have to compete to see who gets picked for that special stew, soup, or tea.

Some observe that you are an invasive garden plant, but I just think you like to spread yourself so that you get to talk to every plant in your patch. I like that you spread via very shallow runners, making it very easy for me to take you out of the party that you are fraternizing in, and plop you in another plant party such as a small herb pot.  No matter where you are present you do a great job mingling. To me, you don’t grow like a weed like many say you do. I for one love the way you intermingle with all the other plants.

Mint, you truly are a social butterfly in the garden.

How to Use Mint in the Garden

I love mint.  I enjoy growing them in pots and in the landscape. I find them pleasing to look at and I like that they spread very elegantly in the garden. Their delicate leaves provide a nice backdrop for flowering plants. I love it when I reach over to cut a few flowers as I rub past my mint plant it releases its lovely feel good fragrance. Most flowering plants are not always in bloom, during those breaks in flowering, mint steps in to fill in the gaps.  I even like it when in late summer mint produces beautiful blue and purple flowers. Now, mint does like to spread happily. You have to enjoy that growing-freely cottage-garden look to like mint in your garden.  However mint looks just as carefree growing in a pot.

Another cool thing about mint is how easy it is to grow. Mint is one of the easiest herbs to grow, if not number one on that list. Just stick it in good soil, make sure it gets plenty of water and it will be happy anywhere.  Mint grows well in full sun and in shady spots.

I like to plant mint among other plants, I especially like doing this with flowering plants.    There are many research studies that show how the fragrance of mint makes us feel good, more alert, aware, and improves our memory functions as well.

Like most herbs, mint has many other health benefits too. Mint tea helps with indigestion, helps sooth nausea, is good for oral health, and interestingly drinking warm mint tea in the hot summer months can actually cool us down.

These days at the nursery you can pick up a wide variety of mint plants.  There is chocolate mint, peppermint, spearmint, apple mint, and orange mint, just to name a few.  Try one or two or grow them all.

Some gardeners may find mint invasive and very hard to remove once established. I for one don’t mind it. On the other hand if your prefer a more contained and tidy mint plant, plant mint in a pot so they don’t get a chance to spread through runners. This way you can enjoy mint’s glorious fragrance and flavor and all its wonderful health benefits. Try growing mint in your garden for its pleasant smelling leaves, its always sunny disposition, and it’s soothing aromatic and healthful benefits.

🌿 Mint. The Social Butterfly of the Garden 🌿