I'm really glad
And it isn’t a succulent.
Is it just me or does anyone else have horrible luck with those things?
Last year, I got a wild hair to incorporate lemon balm into our backyard garden. I thought surely it wouldn’t take up too much space, and it would make some decent filler.
Look, I don’t know what happened. But she started off as an itty bitty thing, maybe a few inches high at most. Now in her Sophomore season…
She’s large and in charge.
A member of the mint family, I’m not exactly sure if it was the most wise choice to plop her down directly in my garden. But ya know what? We’re committed, and she’s simply too happy in her home to transplant now. The roots on this girly are ROOTED. She’s a permanent resident.
Lemon balm is one of those plants that is hardy, can withstand the cold weather below freezing, and does insanely well if you pop a cloche over it after you’ve cut it back for the winter. In midwinter, she was the first of my plants to begin her grand comeback. And it was lovely.
Mostly because everything else was still in the stick season era, and the little pop of color gave me hope that spring would eventually work its way to frozen tundra. Those leaves started to multiply, and through some of the cold drizzly days of late winter, I was able to cozy up with cups of lemon balm tea with honey and lemon.
And yes. It was simply delightful and made me feel downright witchy at the prospect of drinking my own herbal concoction.
This green goddess is a forgiving plant that makes you feel like you’re not a total failure at gardening. Even if you think your thumb is more black than green. Promise. I may or may not have almost accidentally killed it in late October right before we got our first snow.
There I was, frantically harvesting tomatoes and giant cucumbers with Cooper, when I thought to myself, “the lemon balm needs a trim before the snow!” Don’t ask me why I’m like this; it’s probably the same thought process that starts off with, “I need to clean the bathroom” and somehow, someway, the entire house gets purged and cleaned in one day. Oops.
Learn from me, my friends! Pop a sheet over them for an unexpected snow instead of freaking out and chopping them down. Half way through her unfortunate haircut, I realized I should do this, threw a sheet over her, and she lived on. Fairly lopsided, but hey, those details didn’t matter! A few weeks later, I trimmed her back on a warmer day for the winter.
This spring she’s ready to roll, and already producing more leaves than I anticipated. She made it!
I’m gearing up to harvest those beautiful leaves for plenty of drinks and teas this spring and summer! Lemon balm is particularly handy for chilling out an anxious body, brain, and tummy. Honestly? Just working with it in the garden is incredibly soothing. The smell is light, fresh, and slightly minty. The perfect introvert antidote to a full day of editing or extroverting.
Planting a lovely lemon balm lady of your own this year? Keep me updated on your progress below!
