Peppermint

[BirdLover72]

DH bought a plant for me..
I have no idea what do use it for...
HELP.
Birdlover72

[Garden Spider]

Tabouleh salad (Middle Eastern salad with couscous, tomato, and mint)

Crush some leaves into your hot chocolate or stick a sprig into your iced tea.

Mint Juleps!

The sprigs and flowers are a lovely garnish on a plate, or in a dessert (Fresh berries in a wine glass, with a sprig of mint . . . very elegant and simple).

Just chew the leaves--your mouth feels great afterwards!

[Roger]

Peppermint makes an excellent flavored jelly too

You can also seep the muddled leaves in a small container of vodka for three of four days in the fridge, strain, and have a basic peppermint flavored extract for a wide range of uses.

[poke]

don't forget about making mojitos!

[doccat5]

You do want to contain it, it is very aggressive.

[opabinia51]

Yes, mint will even start taking over your lawn if you don't watch it. Be sure to dig into the soil to get all of it's roots. Gardening with mint is fun but,you really have to watch things.

[doccat5]

I just bought some Chocolate Mint today. I was participating in a plant clinic at the local farmer's market with 2 other Master Gardeners and of course I had to "check" things out. Beautiful healthy plants and all organic or "naturally" grown. Seems people just don't want to go thru all the paperwork and process for the cert. I've talked to several people there who said it was just such a headache to keep up with the paperwork they dropped it. What a shame, sigh

[poke]

speaking of chocolate mint! I think the birds must love the stuff around where I live. my poor little choco mint plant will just barely start to get bigger and bushier before some unidentified creature (I'm guessing birds?) comes and picks the stems right off the plant! is there anything I can do to keep the birdies away? ive heard wind chimes are a good idea, but is there anything else that could possibly help?

[applestar]

I've heard that some cats like mints because they're in the same family as catnip. Could your culprit be a cat?

[poke]

cats? no...not very likey...seeing as how I'm on a 3rd floor balcony with no cats! unless they are high jumpers haha I'm pretty positive birds, unless my dog has been getting ahold of the stuff. (but nothing else is being eaten) I guess ill try to put them up on a table and see if the mystery keeps occuring? I just wish this chocolate mint could get big enough to actually cover the pot I just planted in it! sheesh!

ill let ya know if I figure it out....

[aqh88]

Squirrels? Birds don't usually eat leaves and stems. Rabbits are the usual culprit for trimmed plants but not that high up. I usually throw bird netting or mesh wire over my plants but most of the time that's just until they get big enough. There's enough stuff to eat around here that they just do some trimming for me and the plants grow even better. A little trimming is good for the plant.