Mint is indestructible.

I've got apple mint in a pot sitting on a paver. There's no way for the roots to get into the ground. It gets 1/4 sun and 3/4 shade and ample water. I got it as just a tiny plant with a few leaves back in March and it has increased its size at least 10x over. It sprawls every which way trying to reach its tentacles to the ground, so it needs regular clipping.

good luck!

I have tried growing spearmint several times, and it always wimps out and goes away. I have had good luck with lemon balm, and usually manage to keep one of those going for several years before it finally succumbs to heat and drought. I wish my spearmint were as vigorous as yours, Katkin! I love a good herb garden, but find so many herbs just can't take the heat. Or possibly it's the humidity.

I finally have one little clump of thyme spilling over my garden border that stays looking good most of the year. When it gets ratty, I cut it back and it fills out again in short order. But this is the first time I've had success with it in the ground. I usually have to use planters and grow it as an annual.

I'd really like to have a serious herb garden one day, though I don't know where I'd put it. Something else to ponder.......

Marcia

Mine does well in a fairly large window box. I think it needs to feel like its invading. When I had it in a small pot it died out.

Michelle

Seriously mint is indestructible, I have spearmint basically all over the place, and it was only 5 twigs, I just wanted a small patch, the darn thing looks like lawn LOL!! ooh mine is on the ground

Marcia, what about basil? I have two kinds and they seed all over my veggie garden. I also grow tarragon, oregano, parsley, rosemary, chives, & society garlic. Sage, dill and fennel in the winter months, along with arugala.

Note on the society garlic, you need to get one organicly grown or buy it and leave it for 3 years to clean up.

The basil seems to laugh at the heat, as long as it gets some water.

The mint sent runners everwhere and took over. I had to find a way to contain it and still grow it. I have two kinds of mint, spear mint and pepper mint

I found a way to keep it somewhat contained AND to get it through the mid-summer heat, as some of mine had also wimped out. We have a koi pond, with a little stream and waterfall, so I just tucked sprigs of it into the rocks and gravel bed and it grows like crazy. I can take hardy cuttings every few weeks. Also easy to remove the entire plants if I want to. I also have some growing in a large vase of water on the table outdoors. The only drawback is keeping the water topped off and/or totally refreshing it, so that it doesn't become a breeding ground for mosquitos.

Katkin, I grow basil in pots, along with other herbs, and can grow it in the ground until it gets too hot. Then it just withers away. I've never had much luck with herbs in the ground, but I'm still working on it. I do have an African blue basil that Bill gave me, and it is doing pretty well, though looking a bit tired right now.

I've had dill do well for a few months, too, but then it dies. And none of it ever reseeds for me. *sniff* What's wrong with MY garden, that's what I wanna know?!!! I want wonderful smelling herbs, toooooo!

Marcia (who's going off to pout and whine because Katkin can grow them and she can't!)

All I can imagine is you who can grow mint must have some really nice soil and plenty of moisture.
I'd really like to find a spot in my yard for it to invade instead of wimp out and disappear.

I must admit the soil in my veggie garden is good. It has 10 years worth of grass clippings rotted down. It is black and has worms in it. And we do have a sprinlker system, but can't hardly use it right now. But the soil in most of my property isn't just the white sand. But it does drain fast, it isn't clay. So I am lucky. Still when I first move here I had it tested and it was 8.6, and the man asked if I was able to grow ANYTHING. lol

I just read that mint really prefers moist soil, so maybe you could grow it in a pot with a saucer and keep it really moist. Just a thought.

In NH I grew mint in a bottomless pot planted in the garden to within 2" of the rim of the pot. I never had any trouble with it spreading. I was forewarned by my dad. My mother planted mint in 1957, it took dad about 35 years to get rid of it.