Do you grow mint?  It is lovely to have fresh mint.  It can be exploited for so many things from tea to mint sauce and many other culinary and medicinal uses. 

The problem with mint is that it is invasive in the extreme.  If you let it grow in open ground, it will take over every scrap of space that it can find.  Most people therefore find a way of restricting it and the best way of doing this is by growing it in a pot. 

Even in a pot, mint can survive almost anything.   Our cold snowy winter had no impact, as soon as Spring came, the bright green shoots showed at the base of last years dead growth.  Next came this year’s very dry Spring, and I forgot to water the pot.  I almost managed to kill my mint.  By the time I remembered to water the pot, there was no sign of life.  But, a couple of days later, the first signs of life showed.  After a few more days, more and more shoots showed.  Now almost half the pot is growing well and I have absolutely no doubt that in a few more weeks there will be no sign of my neglect.  Soon we will be once again harvesting mint to enjoy.

So if you do decide to grow mint, which one will you go for?  There is an amazing range available.  Think beyond the standard peppermint and investigate the possibilities.  There are mints from all parts of the world including Korea, Spain and the Atlas Mountains.  Then there are those with unusual flavours ranging from chocolate through grapefruit to even berries and cream.  You can choose from shrubby, variagated and  buddleia versions as well.  

One of the suppliers with the widest range is herb specialist Jekka’s Herb Farm, who offer a very extensive mail order selection and will deliver outside of the UK.