Flowering Peppermint

Ah, late summer! A time when even the old, familiar herbs throw a little party of their own. You wander into a patch of peppermint, expecting the usual sea of green, and—surprise!—it's a festival. Violet-pink blossoms dance atop bushy stalks; butterflies and flies are the invited guests. The air smells...different. Not the knock-your-socks-off peppermint scent but a milder, more poetic version—a touch sweet, a dash spicy.

You see, flowering peppermint is like that quiet cousin who suddenly tells the best stories at the family gathering. Less shouty, perhaps, than its leafier self, but oh-so-enchanting. Why do we usually harvest the leaves just before this spectacle? Oh, it's a matter of oils and potency; a tale for another day, found in our posts on making peppermint oil and brewing peppermint tea - or even drying up the stalks and leaves.

Yet, let us not overlook the flowering charmer. Its softer, floral notes might not kick like its leafy sibling, but they’ll waltz delicately across your taste buds. And beauty! Ah, tucked in a vase, those bushy stalks with little pink hats make for a whimsical centerpiece, alive and aromatic.

Ah, gifts! Picture gifting a vase of this living poetry to a friend, whispering that if potted, it will morph into a peppermint bush. A week, that's all it takes for the stalks to root. A gift that grows—how splendidly earth-friendly!

And you, the at-home mixologist with a flair for the magical—imagine plucking leaves right from a centerpiece for a drink, or even better, using a whole flower stem as a cocktail's flourish. It's not just garnish; it's a story, a spectacle, a conversation starter.

So, as summer starts to bow, make room for flowering peppermint in your story. Let it enchant your drinks, grace your tables, and fill your vases. When the peppermint flowers, so does the imagination. Let’s revel in it.