Mints

I’m rewriting this page as individual pages for Spearmint, Peppermint and Pennyroyal. Check for links to those pages on the Herbs in the garden page soon.

Mints are a confusing, promiscuous lot, readily hybridizing and taking over our gardens. They are creeping plants with a strong smell, square (usually hairy) stems and underground runners. leaves are in opposite pairs.

There are many cultivars that change the look of the species slightly, yours may have slightly differently coloured flowers or leaves than those described here, but the main features will be, essentially , the same.

They have great medicinal and culinary properties and are great friends.I’ll be posting pics of each type of mint I can find as they flower, for the colour, arrangement and position of the flowers are important guides to telling them apart. Each photo will have a description in its caption. Don’t forget to check back, as this is a work in progress…