16/04/2025
Ah, Melissa! 🪴
Your lemony scent lifts the spirits of all who pass by. I often wonder, did plants inspire human names, or did we name ourselves after them?
Lemon balm, also Bee balm, or Melissa officinalis, is a mint that chose to smell like lemons. It thrives in our Irish garden, seeding itself freely. From a single plant, it’s now flourishing across the garden.
Now is the perfect time to harvest, before it flowers and while the flavour is at its peak. Unlike other mints that spread via roots, lemon balm stays in tidy clumps, spreading through its highly fertile flowers. Pollinators like hoverflies and bumblebees adore them.
Traditionally, it’s used to calm the mind and body. Its gentle citrus aroma soothes digestion and can ease grumpiness. Mrs. Grieve notes it’s a carminative, febrifuge, and diaphoretic, meaning it helps to cool the body or break a fever especially when accompanied by a cold.
In larger doses, when combined with other herbs, Melissa acts as a mild antidepressant and relaxant. It’s beneficial for nervous excitability, hyperthyroidism, migraines, stomach cramps, urinary infections, and even conditions like shingles and herpes.
My wife enjoys adding a few leaves to our water jug with mint for a refreshing drink. Some folks make syrups or use it in cooking. It doesn’t dry well, the lemon flavour fades, so I like to enjoy it fresh when I can!
