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Mint is one plant that was made to be grown in a container. Spearmint, peppermint, and to a lesser degree, apple mint, quickly become thugs if turned loose in the garden. Give them a bit of moisture and a spot of earth and they will conquer the world, quickly choking out weeds and any other plant foolish enough to get in their way. These perennial mint plants spread by underground runners and about the only way to confine them is with a sidewalk, street or road, or periodic applications of napalm. Okay, so maybe the napalm is a bit of an exaggeration. Still, it's hard to tell whether container gardens were invented for mint plants or if the mint plant was created to fill a container. All varieties of mint are perfect container herbs.
All mint plants are invasive except the smaller Corsican mint. Keep that in mind if you decide to plant mint in the ground.
Otherwise, planted in a pot or container, mint is a lovely plant with attractive foliage and small, pale purple or white flowers. Give mint its own pot or container and be prepared to repot it every year. During the winter months, move your mint plant in its container into a cool garage or porch or sink it, pot and all, into a cold frame. It's possible to winter mint plants in the house, but they'll need very bright light and you must be ruthless about cutting back straggly plants to force new growth.
Mint leaves can be collected and dried during the summer months for use as mint tea at a later time. The fresh mint leaves are both decorative and tasty in a tall glass of iced tea and of course, the ever-popular mint julep. A relatively new drink to hit the scene is the Mojito, made with rum and mint leaves, along with other ingredients. This mojito coctail, once a daily favourite of Ernest Hemingway, has enjoyed a comeback since James Bond drank one in the movie Die Another Day. The mojito, made with rum, powdered sugar, lime juice, club soda and mint, is now an essential staple of cocktail lounges everywhere. Recipes simply call for "mint". However, we're told the true mojito must be made with a Cuban variety, different from most other mint plants in that its scent and flavour are agreeably mild and warm, not pungent nor overly sweet like other mints.
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