I’ve worked as a gardener and landscaper and I’m always grateful for the unique and varied properties of peppermint. I always recommend mint when people ask for a good erosion-control plant as it is ideal. Almost any kind of mint will work!

You can use apple mint (a bit more feathery and plump), spearmint (bright and sweeter than peppermint, and generally shorter), or peppermint (more spicy and taller)... but they all do great as landscaping plants. 

Mints for Landscaping

Mints are not picky about where they grow: they all tend to thrive in poor, sandy and well-drained soils (or they can be happy in streambeds!) and they also do well in gardens and flower beds.

Of course, peppermint (and all mints) spread rapidly; peppermint puts out a great root system that holds loose soil in place even on hillsides and banks and for this reason is a fantastic erosion-control ally.

Peppermint also attracts bees and other pollinators so is exceptionally helpful when growing vegetables. It produces lovely, violet-colored flowers and it holds its green leaves for an extended period during the growing season so it can be relied upon for landscaping good-looks. Peppermint and spearmint are also perennial (hello permaculture); medicinal (hello upset tummies and poor circulation); and edible.

I once worked for a bed-and-breakfast as gardener and landscaper and was horrified to find the previous owners had planted creeping vines all around their stonewall patio. Not only had they planted mints, but also English Ivy and morning-glory vine, and the entire patio was overgrown. Since then, I've used caution with mint (planting in pots and buckets works well) but I've deepened my appreciation for mint as a hillside or barrier plant.

If you’re looking for a way to control erosion on a hillside, or enhance a butterfly or a kitchen garden, definitely consider peppermint or any other species of Mentha. 

#permaculture #billmollis #spearmint #ediblelandscape #bellebuonoschoolofherbalmedicine

 For more crafting and garden ideas, get Holly Bellebuono's Llewellyn's Little Book of Herbs, here: