Janet Baraclough wrote:
The message .com
from "Cat(h)" contains these words:

This question is on the verge of OT - but here it goes anyway...

Last spring, I planted a lemon balm in my luxury herb bed. (snip)
I have no idea what to do with it in the kitchen - which is my main
motivation for growing herbs.

I've never discovered a good culinary use for lemon balm; but then I
grow a number of herbs I don't have a practical use for, just because
they look good, smell good, attract wildlife or are good space fillers.I
grow two (useless but nice) forms of lemon balm, the green one and a
yellow variegated one.



Thank you Janet and all others for all the information. My (plain)
lemon balm does look lovely in the herb bed. My herb garden is a
large, square raised bed, approx 2.5m by 2.5 m situated in the middle
of a gravelled patio. It is a lovely suntrap, and, edged with recycled
old yellow bricks, the edges of the bed are perfect as seating. Just
the right place to read the papers on a warm sunny summer Sunday (if
those still exist, though I have my doubts).
It was the first area of the garden I concentrated on - being a bit of
a cooking fiend, it was a high priority - when we bought the house 3
years ago. In it, I have an ginormous sage (hacked back already last
year, exploited to death) which is about to burst into glorious purple
flowers. Also in flower are a few healthy clumps of chives. Soon, the
lavender will add its own shade of mauve into the mix, then the thyme
and the oregano. I have to very large clumps of golden marjoram, which
used to be one, leggy, dehydrated thing in a 3 inch pot purchased from
the very much reduced section of a local garden centre cum DIY store.
I have too much mint, which I will hack back and restrict to a pot, as
it is interfering with my smallish bay. There is also a superb
rosemary bush, and the tarragon is making a nice come back. While all
the herbs are spilling over the edges, there is ample space for a few
annuals, and I have a couple of corriander plants in - somehow, I never
manage to get them to germinate from seed, so I have to buy the plants
each year. Unfortunately, slugs and snails had a few thai green
curries on me, before I could take measures - I hope the plants will
now recover. I have also sown some dill, which is only just coming
through now. The spring and summer have been viciously cold, and
everything here is around 3 to 4 weeks late by my reckoning.
All in all, the lemon balm adds to the glorious riot of shades of green
and textures that is my herb bed. It also adds to the bank of
fragrances it provides on a warm afternoon. It is by far the nicest
part of my garden, and I admit to being very proud of it.
I'll just have to keep the little beggar in check after flowering to
ensure it doesn't invade me completely...
Thanks again to all!

Cat(h)