One of my jobs this month is to get a number different mint plants established at the Little Herb Farm.  As they grow like the clappers they should provide plenty of material for cuttings as well as for the various products I have planned.  I will however be sure to plant them with care.

Originating in the Mediterranean, mint was widely used by Egyptians and Romans.  As with many herbs in the UK, it was likely introduced here by the Romans who used it in the household and the kitchen.  In many cultures mint denotes hospitality and mint tea is still used to welcome guests across the Middle East.  The name Mentha is derived from the Greek ‘minthe’ or the Latin ‘menthe’.   Proserpine, Pluto’s wife, was said to have transformed Minthe – a rival for Pluto’s affections – into the mint plant.  Pluto gave the plant its lovely aroma to be reminded of his lost love.

The genus comprises 25 variable species.   I’m a big fan of apple mint (Mentha suaveolens)– there’s something about the soft green colour and downy texture of the leaves that makes it a particular favourite of mine.  I also really like Corsican mint (Mentha requienii) which has a lovely zingy, sinus-clearing scent emanating from tiny green leaves.  It’s a great plant for sticking in crevices or cracks and I’m nurturing a plant in the kitchen herb bed to be divided at some future date and distributed in the many cracks that add ‘character’ to my garden’s hardscape.

In the meantime I can’t help but give it a brisk rub whenever I walk by and inhale the scent from my hands (mints derive their aroma from menthol, a volatile oil that is simultaneously cooling and warming).

Janet (Planticru) was kind enough to bring me some ginger mint (Mentha x gracilis or ‘Scotch mint’)and I’ve recently ordered some new varieties from Abriachan Garden Nursery up on Loch Ness. 

And here I must digress from mints for a moment.  I have a feeling that I first stumbled across Abriachan while reading Planticru.  I snuck a quick peek at their website and I’m intrigued.  Why?  Well as you asked…

• First and foremost they are a proper nursery where plants are the focus.  Their plant catalogue is very tempting and I succumbed last week, hence the new mints (plus some angelica, crambe and monarda).
• Second their location is wonderful.  Though I’ve never visited the nursery itself person (more on this shortly), it’s located in a beautiful part of Scotland and the garden is obviously a match for it.
• Third one of their specialities is Auriculas which never fail to make me smile and though not ‘herby’, still have a place in my garden and hopefully one day in a proper Victorian-inspired Auricula display.
• Fourth, they are generous enough to publicize a list of ‘Scottish garden blogs’, of which I’m very happy to be a part.

It’s quite possible that I’ll have a few more reasons to add to the list in early September as we’re heading north to Durness for a few days and with the promise of a distillery tour later up the A9 I’m pretty sure I can convince the Prof to do a quick detour once we get to Inverness and I can see Abriachan for myself.  Either that or I’ll make sure I’m driving that section of the route to Durness and I’ll conveniently take a wrong turn.  I also hope to visit Poyntzfield Herb Nursery on the Black Isle, so stay tuned for an early September blog.

Anyway digression over, now back to the mints.

Chocolate peppermint, lime, basil, and Moroccan mint from Abriachan will join the Little Herb Farm’s apple mint, peppermint, spearmint, black peppermint, ginger mint and Corsican mint .  The newcomers will be planted in very large, bottomless pots that will be sunk in well-drained and rich soil at different spots throughout the garden.

There’s so much more to mint than popping a sprig into a pan of boiled potatoes, adding one as a garnish for fresh peas, or floating one in a pitcher of Pimms (not that there’s anything wrong with that or course).  If you’ve never made a proper Tabbouleh you’ve been missing out on a fabulously flavoursome herby salad where mint (along with parsley) just wows the taste-buds.   The Little Herb Farm’s Strawberry and Apple Mint vinegar is equally delicious poured over fresh fruit, used as a salad dressing, drizzled over cheese or mixed with sparkling water as a refreshing drink.

Culpeper identifies a wide range of medicinal uses for mint, including stirring up bodily lust; stopping hiccups & vomiting, repressing lactation, treating ear-ache and headaches, sore gums, bad breath, leprosy and last but not least it can ‘helpeth the biting of a mad dog’.

More modern herbalists point to mint’s antiseptic, antispasmodic, mild analgesic, mild sedative, and carminative properties.  It can be taken for nervousness, insomnia, cramps, coughs, migraine, digestion, nausea and added to the bath to soothe itchy skin.  Hot peppermint tea, which can be combined elderflower or yarrow, encourages sweating and cools a fever.  Neal’s Yard Remedies suggests a tea of peppermint leaves mixed with calendula flowers, motherwort and vervain and sweetened with rose-petal syrup to treat pre-menstrual tension and period pains.

Mint generally does best in rich moist soil in sun or partial shade.  Most are invasive and are best planted in a container or confined space.  Only a few varieties can be grown true to type from seed but they are easy to propagate from division or cuttings or even popped into a cup of water on the windowsill. There’s a possibility that planted too close together, mints will hybridize and lose their individual characteristics, so I plan to distribute them around the Little Herb Farm to ensure their distinctive aromas and appearance are retained.  I look forward to exploring their many uses over the coming months.