Mint Knows No Bounds

By Phran Novelli

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - Someone in my neighborhood planted a little plot of mint. For now. Because one plant is pretty much all you need to grow a field of mint.

I love mint. It smells good, tastes great in salads, sweets, savories, tea, and has medicinal uses too. You could say mint knows no bounds. Which is true. Mint runs like a bandit - pots can't contain it. My Aunt Lin was recently regretting having planted mint in Pop-Pop's wooden wine barrel thinking it would stay put!

But, mint likes to wander. It sends out runners and spends summer days taking long walks. Next year you'll see how far it went, but it doesn't stop there - it keeps going and starts smothering other plants. Eventually you move away, leaving the next owner to wonder, 'Who would ever plant all this MINT?!'

My neighbor who planted it - and cutely contained it with a low fence that the mint will almost certainly ignore - may not realize it yet, but that little plot of mint could be the start of something BIG.