Lemon Balm

Pretty bright green clumping herbaceous plant of the mint family, Lemon Balm has a gentle and very pleasant lemony scent to the leaves when crushed. Used as a herbal tea and in extract form it is widely appreciated for its healthful tonic effects, with the Chinese going so far as to suggest that drinking the tea daily can add many years to a person’s life, similar in effect to ginseng. Used since before the Middle ages in Europe for its calming effects on the nervous system and its soothing effect on the digestive tract. Lemon Balm is currently being studied for its positive effects on our mental faculties and its benefits in preventing Alzheimer’s disease. According to the late Alan Chadwick, the father of French Intensive Biodynamic farming in America, it is a specific for melancholy. It is the main ingredient in Carmelite Water sold in pharmacies in Germany and the oil is distilled for use in aromatherapy. Fragrant white flowers in summer are loaded with nectar and very popular with bees and other beneficial insects. Native to central and southern Europe it is now grown all over the world, both in home gardens and commercial agriculture as its extracts are used in furniture polishes, cosmetics and more. A tough easy to grow plant it is hardy zones 4 through 9.