mint

This is one of my mint patches in the sunshine.  Spearmint.  It's growing in three big tubs near the cherry tree.  One summer a few years ago while I was working away in the garden,  a car suddenly came barrelling down the driveway.  A youngish guy jumped out and ran through the gate.  He was looking for mint.  He was with a group of friends who'd come to the island from Vancouver for a few days of fun and the plan was to have mojitos.  He told me how he was in charge of the ingredients and he felt really bad because he feared all his friends were seriously disappointed with him because he'd forgotten to bring mint from the city.  Well you just can't make a mojito without the mint!!  
He'd been to the Farmer's Market but there was no mint there.  Those days, I didn't sell at the market much but someone there had told him that he could see if I had some mint, so that's how he ended up in the garden.  Luckily, I had lots of mint for him.  Yay!
I'll never forget that frantic little scene and thanks to that guy and his anxious search for mojito mint, I always try to have some spearmint on hand for those summertime vacationers that have forgotten to bring their mint from the city.  And I continue to sell lots in the summer.  If you're on Mayne Island and you need some mint, let me know : )

I also sell little mint transplants in the springtime, for those with home gardens who want to grow their own. 

Pretty bundles of spearmint, it looks lovely in flower bouquets too (or just by itself in a jar on the kitchen counter) and the smell is one of the best!

On market days, the jars of spearmint are there.  4 bundles per jar for display, $2. per bundle.

 One of the little market signs I use to label things.

This year,  I'm drying spearmint and peppermint in the garden kitchen for nice teas in the wintertime.

This is the peppermint patch, growing same as the spearmint, in tubs.  I like using peppermint in flower bouquets so I always let some go to flower.

I've discovered that Richter's Seeds is selling a type of mint plant they're calling "Mojito Mint" .  There's a link on that page to a story about it and some mojito recipes too.  Perhaps I need to grow some next year!....and Chocolate Mint too.....

herbs

Taking all the little herb plants from their plug trays and potting them up into larger pots full of nutrient rich soil is one of the hundreds of jobs (no wait, thousands of jobs) in the garden right now.  Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme.  And Greek Oregano, and Spearmint, Peppermint, Pineapple Mint....Garlic Chives and Regular Chives.......so many lovely culinary herb plants for sale in the garden this year!

Thank goddess that Paulette is helping me with all this endless potting.  Here we are one day this week showing off our little pots of English Thyme after just finishing up 5 trays of Rosemary "Arp".

Here she is nestling all those sweet little rosemaries into their pots.  They're going to be so happy!

We had lots of thyme on our hands last Sunday afternoon. (oops, sorry, couldn't resist)

The thyme almost looks like a succulent of some sort when you look at it really closely.

A wee little rosemary.  Grow baby, grow!

The garden sage is looking really good.  

And so is the greek oregano....I can smell these as I type, even tho' I'm nowhere near them right now.

Friday afternoon was nice and sunny and Paulette was back at it, potting up the mints this time.  I think the smell of spearmint just might be my favourite one of all.

The peppermints are looking really good!...I think they're especially happy that the sun is finally shining on their leaves.

Last fall, in an effort to make things easier on myself, I decided to try ordering a few plug trays from Richter's Herbs....some for me to plant in my garden and some to pot up for plant sales.  A few less plants to start myself, I thought.  So I ordered them for spring delivery and they have arrived...I'm amazed at how beautiful the plants were after being in the mail for a few days.  They come in boxes like this, 3 to a box, each one wrapped in a mesh bag and all 3 layered securely without crushing each other.

These 3 were all in a box together.  Garden Sage, Lemon Carpet Thyme (heavenly scent) and Greek Oregano.  If you're a gardener serious about herbs, you'll probably enjoy visiting their website (even if just to browse the list of herbs!)...they offer plant plug trays and smaller plug packs and a great selection of seeds too.  And it's really helpful when looking for a special or unusual variety of herb that you just can't find anywhere at your local garden centers....or if you need a lot of plants at a wholesale price.