Brush past a lemon balm plant in May and the air fills with a scent somewhere between fresh lemon and sweet green leaves. It is a modest herb, easy to overlook next to showier flowers, but it has been loved in gardens for a very long time. Late spring is when it looks and smells its best in Georgia.
A herb named for the bees
Lemon balm’s botanical name is Melissa officinalis. “Melissa” comes from the Greek word for honeybee, and the connection is no accident: bees are drawn to its small, pale flowers, and beekeepers in the ancient Mediterranean world grew it near their hives. Greek and Roman writers mentioned it, medieval monastery gardens kept it and it became a standard plant in the kitchen gardens of Europe.
In the 1600s a lemon-balm-based toilet water made by Carmelite nuns in Paris became fashionable across Europe, one of many scented waters of the period. From there the plant crossed the Atlantic with European settlers and has been growing in American gardens ever since.
What it is like to grow
Lemon balm is a member of the mint family, and it behaves like one. It is vigorous, happy in sun or part shade, tolerant of ordinary soil and inclined to spread. In a Georgia garden it appreciates a little afternoon shade once the summer heat arrives. Many gardeners keep it in a pot for exactly that reason: the plant stays where it is put and can be moved out of the harshest sun.
Cutting it back after it flowers keeps it bushy and fresh. The leaves are most fragrant before the plant blooms, so late spring is the sweet spot for harvesting.
Simple ways to enjoy it
- Steep a handful of fresh leaves in hot water for a mild, lemony tisane, or add them to a pitcher of cold water in the refrigerator
- Tuck a few sprigs into a vase with other garden cuttings so the scent drifts through a room
- Crush a leaf between your fingers during a garden break and simply breathe it in
- Dry the leaves on a screen in a warm, airy spot and keep them in a jar for winter
If you make an herb a daily habit, or you are pregnant, nursing or taking medication, it is sensible to mention it to your doctor first. We enjoy lemon balm for its scent and its place in the garden, not as a remedy, and we encourage you to think of it the same way.
Lemon balm and aromatherapy
True lemon balm essential oil, usually sold as melissa oil, is one of the most expensive oils on the market because the plant yields so little. Much of what is sold cheaply under that name is blended or substituted with lemongrass or citronella. If you buy it, buy from a supplier that lists the botanical name, dilute it well and treat it as a rare pleasure rather than an everyday oil.
For most of us, the plant itself is the better experience: a pot by the back door, a leaf crushed in passing, and a scent that says early summer in Georgia as surely as cut grass and warm rain.