What a wonderful plant this is. Someone gave us a cutting last year and
it has already made a nice little shrub. Recently we've started
harvesting it for lemon balm tea. Quite nice. Today for the first time
we tried chilled lemon balm tea and it was a really pleasant lemon
tasting drink with the evening meal. Better chilled than hot. Well worth
growing.

For two cups/glasses I use around 6 sprigs, each with around 6 leaves
on, and chopped coarsely. Place in a tea pot, add boiling water and
leave to stand for a least ten minutes. Today's was left to stand for at
least half an hour before straining into two glasses and popping into
the fridge to chill. Well worth trying if you have some lemon balm in
the garden.

--
David in Normandy.
To e-mail you must include the password FROG on the
subject line, or it will be automatically deleted
by a filter and not reach my inbox.

David in Normandy wrote:
What a wonderful plant this is. Someone gave us a cutting last year and
it has already made a nice little shrub. Recently we've started
harvesting it for lemon balm tea. Quite nice. Today for the first time
we tried chilled lemon balm tea and it was a really pleasant lemon
tasting drink with the evening meal. Better chilled than hot. Well worth
growing.

For two cups/glasses I use around 6 sprigs, each with around 6 leaves
on, and chopped coarsely. Place in a tea pot, add boiling water and
leave to stand for a least ten minutes. Today's was left to stand for at
least half an hour before straining into two glasses and popping into
the fridge to chill. Well worth trying if you have some lemon balm in
the garden.

Don't let it set seed or you will regret it.
ISTR there is a variagated form that is less vigorous.

Regards,
Martin Brown

Martin Brown wrote:
David in Normandy wrote:
What a wonderful plant this is. Someone gave us a cutting last year
and it has already made a nice little shrub. Recently we've started
harvesting it for lemon balm tea. Quite nice. Today for the first
time we tried chilled lemon balm tea and it was a really pleasant
lemon tasting drink with the evening meal. Better chilled than hot.
Well worth growing.

For two cups/glasses I use around 6 sprigs, each with around 6 leaves
on, and chopped coarsely. Place in a tea pot, add boiling water and
leave to stand for a least ten minutes. Today's was left to stand
for at least half an hour before straining into two glasses and
popping into the fridge to chill. Well worth trying if you have some
lemon balm in the garden.

Don't let it set seed or you will regret it.
ISTR there is a variagated form that is less vigorous.

Regards,
Martin Brown
Mums lemon balm has been in place for 50+ years.......never spread. Smells
great
--
Pete C
London UK

"Martin Brown" wrote in message
David in Normandy wrote:
What a wonderful plant this is. Someone gave us a cutting last year and
it has already made a nice little shrub. Recently we've started
harvesting it for lemon balm tea. Quite nice. Today for the first time we
tried chilled lemon balm tea and it was a really pleasant lemon tasting
drink with the evening meal. Better chilled than hot. Well worth growing.

For two cups/glasses I use around 6 sprigs, each with around 6 leaves on,
and chopped coarsely. Place in a tea pot, add boiling water and leave to
stand for a least ten minutes. Today's was left to stand for at least
half an hour before straining into two glasses and popping into the
fridge to chill. Well worth trying if you have some lemon balm in the
garden.

Don't let it set seed or you will regret it.
ISTR there is a variagated form that is less vigorous.

I'll try the chilled drink David, it'll make a change from Robinsons My
wife used it in a Thai dish that needed lemon grass and it worked out ok.
I agree Martin, it can be a bit invasive. It's appeared in all 4 gardens in
my terrace. Nobody is quite sure where it started. Plants like hardy
geraniums and aquilegia, seem to spread in a Northerly direction.
..

On 2009-06-18 08:20:19 +0100, Jennifer Sparkes said:

The message
from Martin Brown contains these words:

David in Normandy wrote:
What a wonderful plant this is. Someone gave us a cutting last year and
it has already made a nice little shrub. Recently we've started
harvesting it for lemon balm tea. Quite nice. Today for the first time
we tried chilled lemon balm tea and it was a really pleasant lemon
tasting drink with the evening meal. Better chilled than hot. Well worth
growing.

For two cups/glasses I use around 6 sprigs, each with around 6 leaves
on, and chopped coarsely. Place in a tea pot, add boiling water and
leave to stand for a least ten minutes. Today's was left to stand for at
least half an hour before straining into two glasses and popping into
the fridge to chill. Well worth trying if you have some lemon balm in
the garden.

Don't let it set seed or you will regret it.
ISTR there is a variagated form that is less vigorous.

Now I am confused ...

I thought David was talking about Aloysia triphylla (formerly Lippia
citriodora)
and Martin Brown to Mellisa officinalis ...

Never mind I like the idea of the tea chilled - well the Lemon Verbena one
anyway, haven't tried the other as a tea - hot, cold or made into wine!

Jennifer

Aloysia triphylla was what my parents called Lemon Verbena, the Melissa
(to me) is Lemon balm. Aloysia triphylla leaves can also be used at
the bottom of a cake tin to give a lemony tang to a sponge cake and
make lovely dried 'keep the sheets scented' bags for a linen cupboard.
--
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.com
Shrubs & perennials. Tender & exotics.
South Devon

On Thu, 18 Jun 2009 08:20:19 +0100, Jennifer Sparkes
wrote:

The message
from Martin Brown contains these words:

David in Normandy wrote:
What a wonderful plant this is. Someone gave us a cutting last year and
it has already made a nice little shrub. Recently we've started
harvesting it for lemon balm tea. Quite nice. Today for the first time
we tried chilled lemon balm tea and it was a really pleasant lemon
tasting drink with the evening meal. Better chilled than hot. Well worth
growing.

For two cups/glasses I use around 6 sprigs, each with around 6 leaves
on, and chopped coarsely. Place in a tea pot, add boiling water and
leave to stand for a least ten minutes. Today's was left to stand for at
least half an hour before straining into two glasses and popping into
the fridge to chill. Well worth trying if you have some lemon balm in
the garden.

Don't let it set seed or you will regret it.
ISTR there is a variagated form that is less vigorous.

Now I am confused ...

I thought David was talking about Aloysia triphylla (formerly Lippia
citriodora)
and Martin Brown to Mellisa officinalis ...

Thanks for the clarification Jennifer. I have never been able to keep
the lemon verbena (aloysia?) over winter. Lemon balm (melissa?) does
spread and seed itself about.

Pam in Bristol

Pam Moore writes

I have never been able to keep the lemon verbena (aloysia?) over
winter.

It's not hardy in most of the UK. I think you can keep it against a
south facing wall in warmer parts. A shame, because to my nose it has a
far nicer lemon scent than the lemon balm.

I wonder if one can use lemon-scented pelargoniums in the same fashion?

Lemon balm (melissa?) does spread and seed itself about.

--
Kay

Pam Moore wrote:


Thanks for the clarification Jennifer. I have never been able to keep
the lemon verbena (aloysia?) over winter. Lemon balm (melissa?) does
spread and seed itself about.


We used to have a lemon verbena back in England. It seemed to be doing
very well but after three years it died one Winter. Never tried making a
drink with it, but I remember bruised leaves smelled very lemony -
almost like sherbet.

I doubt our lemon balm will get chance to seed itself about - I keep
picking all the tips for tea :-)

It would be nice to grow some in a different part of the garden though,
where it could be allowed to run riot and self seed. I'll have to try
taking some cuttings later in the year. Any suggestions when is the best
time?

--
David in Normandy.
To e-mail you must include the password FROG on the
subject line, or it will be automatically deleted
by a filter and not reach my inbox.

On 2009-06-18 10:32:23 +0100, Jennifer Sparkes said:

The message
from Sacha contains these words:

Big snip

Aloysia triphylla was what my parents called Lemon Verbena, the Melissa
(to me) is Lemon balm. Aloysia triphylla leaves can also be used at
the bottom of a cake tin to give a lemony tang to a sponge cake and
make lovely dried 'keep the sheets scented' bags for a linen cupboard.

Same here.

I like the idea of the leaves in the sponge cake tin.

I have a recipe using them in a syrup for poaching Apricots,
another for Lemon Verbena Ice Cream and just today I found a
Sophie Grigson one for Strawberry, Lemon Verbena and
Mascarpone Fool ...

http://www.herbsociety.co.uk/hom-lemon-verbena.htm

Jennifer

Lovely ideas, Jennifer and I've saved the recipe. I've always grown
Lemon verbena near a doorway because I just can't resist brushing the
leaves with my hand. But it's not hardy and we've known several people
who lost theirs this winter, so if in doubt, grow it in a pot and take
it in for the winter.
--
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.com
Shrubs & perennials. Tender & exotics.
South Devon

On 2009-06-18 11:46:40 +0100, K said:

Pam Moore writes

I have never been able to keep the lemon verbena (aloysia?) over winter.

It's not hardy in most of the UK. I think you can keep it against a
south facing wall in warmer parts. A shame, because to my nose it has a
far nicer lemon scent than the lemon balm.

I wonder if one can use lemon-scented pelargoniums in the same fashion?

Lemon balm (melissa?) does spread and seed itself about.

I did a Google on that and found the page Jennifer had directed us to.
It has a useful bit on scented leaf pelargoniums, including culinary
uses and some strong warnings!
http://www.herbsociety.co.uk/hom-geranium.htm
--
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.com
Shrubs & perennials. Tender & exotics.
South Devon

On 2009-06-18 12:43:05 +0100, Martin said:

On Thu, 18 Jun 2009 12:38:04 +0100, Sacha wrote:

On 2009-06-18 11:46:40 +0100, K said:

Pam Moore writes

I have never been able to keep the lemon verbena (aloysia?) over winter.

It's not hardy in most of the UK. I think you can keep it against a
south facing wall in warmer parts. A shame, because to my nose it has a
far nicer lemon scent than the lemon balm.

I wonder if one can use lemon-scented pelargoniums in the same fashion?

Lemon balm (melissa?) does spread and seed itself about.

I did a Google on that and found the page Jennifer had directed us to.
It has a useful bit on scented leaf pelargoniums, including culinary
uses and some strong warnings!
http://www.herbsociety.co.uk/hom-geranium.htm

It's an aphrodisiac?

Bad luck!
--
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.com
Shrubs & perennials. Tender & exotics.
South Devon

Sacha writes
On 2009-06-18 11:46:40 +0100, K said:

I wonder if one can use lemon-scented pelargoniums in the same
fashion?

I did a Google on that and found the page Jennifer had directed us to.
It has a useful bit on scented leaf pelargoniums, including culinary
uses and some strong warnings!
http://www.herbsociety.co.uk/hom-geranium.htm

Thanks!
So as a rough approximation, the answer is 'no' ;-)
(at least as far as the lemony ones are concerned)
--
Kay

On 2009-06-18 17:39:58 +0100, AriesVal said:

On Thu, 18 Jun 2009 09:02:19 +0100, AriesVal wrote:

On Wed, 17 Jun 2009 23:12:36 +0100, Anne Welsh Jackson wrote:

[3 quoted lines suppressed]

Any lord's I 'know' are very calm

erm .. I see I dropped *n't*, do please insert where appropriate

Really? The ones I know are as a millpond. ;-))
--
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.com
Shrubs & perennials. Tender & exotics.
South Devon

On 2009-06-18 15:15:34 +0100, K said:

Sacha writes
On 2009-06-18 11:46:40 +0100, K said:

I wonder if one can use lemon-scented pelargoniums in the same fashion?

I did a Google on that and found the page Jennifer had directed us to.
It has a useful bit on scented leaf pelargoniums, including culinary
uses and some strong warnings!
http://www.herbsociety.co.uk/hom-geranium.htm

Thanks!
So as a rough approximation, the answer is 'no' ;-)
(at least as far as the lemony ones are concerned)

Looks like it - but the others seem to be okay if they're not 'crispum'.
--
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.com
Shrubs & perennials. Tender & exotics.
South Devon

On 2009-06-18 21:10:57 +0100, AriesVal said:

On Thu, 18 Jun 2009 18:46:00 +0100, Sacha wrote:

Any lord's I 'know' are very calm

erm .. I see I dropped *n't*, do please insert where appropriate

Really? The ones I know are as a millpond. ;-))


In Memoriam A. H. H.: 11.
BY Lord Alfred Tennyson

snip

Very poignant, Val and a lovely evocation of loss and pride and England.
--
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.com
Shrubs & perennials. Tender & exotics.
South Devon