double mint... (Mint)

Member Name: steerpyke

Product:	Mint
Date:	06/02/05 (245 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: easy to grow, very useful

Disadvantages: will run wild if you let it

Peppermint and Spearmint are the two best known of the mints but there are literally hundreds of varieties, due to the fact that they form natural hybrids with each other. Spearmint is thought to be the oldest and is the one referred to in older writings, and all mints were indeed considered to be one and the same up until 1696 when British botanist John Ray did the research to differentiate them.

Spearmint is a perennial that reaches about two feet and spreads through underground runners, it loves sunlight, well drained soil and flowers in small white, pink or lilac whorls in midsummer. Most mints are similar in look, varying in size and dimension but retaining similar qualities. The one problem with garden mints is that they are prone to take over and its a good idea to grow them in pots, either free standing or sunken into the ground to prevent this. Mints will become woody after a number of years but as they grow so rapidly it is easy to remove older plants and just replace them with fresh blood, as it were. Most mints have common qualities and so the information contained here is applicable to all varieties. Variations on a theme include Watermint, a purple flowered plant that as its name suggests grows in wet ground, Gingermint a golden variegated variety with a pungent ginger aroma, and the list is almost endless.

Have you ever had an after dinner mint, of course its a common tradition, but did you know that it actually reflects the ancient custom of feasts concluding with a sprig of mint which acts as a stomach soother and an aid to digestion. This property was first used in ancient Egypt and from there it spread to Palestine where it was considered so useful that it was an accepted item to use as a tax payment. Jesus even scolds the Pharisees in Luke (11:39) "you pay tithes of mint and rue...but have no care for justice and the love of God." From the Holy Land, mint spread to Greece where its modern name was formed. Pluto, god of the dead, fell in love with the nymph Minthe. Plutos wife, Persephone, in a fit of jealousy turned her into a plant and her lover god gave her a fragrant aroma. Minthe evolved into Mentha and the name remained in its latin label and as the basis of the word Menthol.

Greek and Roman homemakers added mint to milk to prevent spoilage and the naturalists and physicians of the time recommended it for a wide range of ailments from hiccups to leprosy. In the ancient far east it was used as a tonic for digestion as well as a treatment for colds and fevers. The middle ages saw the usual strange recommendations being applied to the plant including as being used to help against the "biting of a mad dog". When colonists arrived in America they found Indians using their native mints as a curative against chest congestion and pneumonia, the new arrival of settlers brought the Old World mints with them and the plants went wild.

Today mint is used in a number of areas. Its age old reputation of a digestive aid is borne out by modern research, the Menthol contained within soothes stomach lining and digestive tract as well as preventing stomach ulcers. Its anaesthetic qualities are used in many modern skin creams, a property that the Eclectics of the late 19th century were only too well aware. If you associate mint with only one thing it is as a decongestant, it is used in nasal relief and as a vapour rub, and is approved by the major medical organisations. Lesser known properties include its ability to kill bacteria and aid in the healing of wounds and abrasions, as well as peppermint in particular being an aid to promote menstruation.

Mint is also widely used in culinary circles. Mint Julep can be easily made by mixing 1 measure of brandy, half a tablespoon of castor sugar, I table spoon of soda water, four sprigs of mint and lots of crushed ice. For the non-drinkers mint tea is a great and pungent drink and mint added to ice cream is always a winner.

So we have an age old herbal remedy that grows easily with little attention from the gardener, is useful for its curative properties and tastes great, what more do you need in your garden.

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