Mint is perhaps the most famous of all herbs. It’s certainly one of the most commonly enjoyed and widely used. It holds a similar esteem among pollinators of nearly all types, finding widespread favorability among bees, butterflies, parasitic wasps and beneficial garden flies. 

Mint’s nature lends it particularly to paths and passage ways, as brushing past it or merely stepping on soil containing it’s roots will send it’s familiar, pleasant scent through the air. Your enjoyment will simultaneously be a calling card for many pollinators.

Mint is hardy, it’s almost egg-shaped leaves are richly colored and textured, and it’s many terminal flower spikes in the summer are also visually attractive. It’s also a great plant for beginners, being extremely friendly to contained spaces and relentless picking, requiring little care to keep alive, being very easy to split or transplant as desired (ie. taking a mere cutting and sticking it in a glass of water).

Care: Mints are particularly happy in rich, moist soil, and on the farm they make a quick spread over areas that border on seasonal sogginess. Still, they will perform well in just about any soil, and are better than most plants at adjusting accordingly.

Once established, the main point of maintenance with mint is deciding how far you want it to spread. It’s a very zealous spreader and virtually all of the care required is borne of this nature. Planting mint in containers or enclosed beds is one way to minimize that task. Otherwise, a number of methods can be used to decrease maintenance work. 

Growing mint in drier areas will slow it’s growth. Also, planting it within a rocky border or barriers is helpful. It’s worth noting that mint planted in such a manner along vegetable garden edges can also decrease visits from rodent nibblers such as rabbits. Cutting mint regularly (which may be quite your desire, regardless) also helps regulate it’s spread. 

If grown in open space, particularly in ideal soils, use a hand rake once a year to clear ten to twelves inches wide along the outer edge of the space you’ve dedicated to your mint. Rhizomes generally spread just below the surface, and can be removed this way. Repeating the process yearly combined with standard weeding practices goes a long way towards both you and your local pollinators enjoying your mint without it getting unruly.