True mints belong to the Mentha genus. They have square stems, very aromatic leaves, and small pale purple, pink, and white flowers clustered on a terminal spike.
The most popular of the 25 or so species are peppermint, spearmint, and apple mint. All of which are great for teas and culinary use.
Mint is a very vigorous plant. Given half a chance, mint will thrive most anywhere you plant it and will take over if you are not careful! Pots are a great choice for the mint plant and will make it easy to keep close to kitchen for easy access. You can use mint leaves to garnish foods or drinks or you can steep the leaves for a nice refreshing tea. What about freezing leaves in ice cubes-so pretty in tea or fresh lemonade!
I hope this inspires you to add Mint to your garden!
Here is a nice refreshing salad recipe using mint:
Easy Summer Salad with Mint Dressing
2-3 large cucumbers halved legnthwise, seeded and sliced
3 large tomatoes seeded and chopped coarsely
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
2/3 cup chopped red onion
1 Tbl. Sugar or Splenda
1/2 cup fresh mint leaves
1Teas. kosher salt
3 Tbl. olive oil
Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
Sprig of mint
Toss the cukes, vinegar, sugar and kosher salt in a large bowl. Let stand 45 minutes stirring occaisionally. Add tomatoes, onion, mint, and oil. Salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with mint sprig.
Enjoy!
Blessings,
Lisa
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