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Ah, sweet Melissa. No, I’m not singing an old Barry Manilow song. Melissa just so happens to be the name of a very pretty and useful plant in my herb garden. Melissa, or as the official garden books call her Melissa officinalis, is a perennial medicinal herb. Her more common name is Lemon Balm or Sweet Balm named such for the sweet, lemony scent and taste it imparts when rubbed or added to cooking.
Lemon Balm, a bushy plant by nature, grows to two feet high and if not regularly sheared back will grow tiny, white, insignificant flowers. Its leaves are heavily veined with a light green color. It is an extremely hardy plant and will spread readily and quickly if allowed to self-sow as it is apt to do.
According to my favorite and most useful source for all things related to gardening The Sunset National Garden Book for the US and Canada, Lemon Balm likes rich soil but I have to tell you not to believe it. I have the little darling growing quite happily in some of the poorest soil around. I’ve found through years of experience that herbs in general have more flavor in their leaves when grown in not too rich a soil and it seems to work for me. Your choice of course.
This plant is easily propagated by seed or root division. As a matter of fact that is exactly how I came in possession of my very own Melissa. A friend who also happened to be my autistic son’s speech therapist gave me a bunch saying that she had more than she knew what to do with. That was until I told her exactly what she could do with it. Luckily she still gave me the plant.
Lemon Balm makes a most soothing hot tea whether the leaves are used fresh off the plant or dried. One teaspoon of dried leaves to one cup of hot water, allowed to steep to your taste with a generous bit of honey and you’ll be sleeping like a baby, assuming you take it before bedtime. It has a calming effect much like Chamomile, another of my favorite herbs for teas.
Either way, fresh or dried, Lemon Balm can make a nice addition to a fruit salad, compote, iced tea, fish dishes and virtually anywhere you might like a lemony tang. The dried leaves mix well in potpourris and gives a refreshing lemon scent to sachets.
Lemon Balm dries well as like any other herb. I like to cut several stems and hang them upside down within a paper bag in my green house until it is thoroughly dry. Then I run my hand lightly over the stems to release the leaves and store them in canning jars or any jar with an air-tight lid. This is important for all herbs as exposure to humidity lessens the flavor and can also encourage mold to grow. We don’t want that.
Lemon Balm is easily frozen as well. Just wash and dry the leaves and lay them in a single layer on a tray and freeze. Then, once frozen, place them in labeled freezer bags. Please, do label them. Once frozen, Basil, Lemon Balm and Spearmint all look alike and depending if you want to add it to a fruit salad or make presto you’ll be astonish what a difference it can make. Trust me on that. I’ve made my share of culinary mistakes or as I like to call them, new recipes.
I hope you can make a small space in your herb garden for little Melissa. I’m certain she’ll make a great addition if only to attract bees and butterflies.
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Author Bio Box: Glory Lennon
 For more garden talk, funny short stories and romantic novel excerpts visit http://www.helium.com/users/32782
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