The leaves are best used fresh, but you can keep shoots in a glass of water for several days if you change the water regularly. You can also dry the leaves or freeze them in ice cubes for use in cooking over winter.

Once you are happy with the balance of taste, place in the fridge (minimum 30 minutes) until you are ready to use. There are many uses of mint in the food world, and probably the most common is to use simply as an infusion to make tea. However, the most traditional use for mint is to pair it up with lamb and make a mint sauce, which you would have on a Roast Lamb dinner. You would drizzle the mint sauce like you would a salad dressing over the lamb. Now, this is most delicious, and if you have never tried this combination, please do! Some people like mint sauce very sweet, others like it sharp, so you must judge for yourself and taste as you add. The standard form of mint is spearmint (Mentha spicata), which is often just sold as garden mint. But there are many other flavours, including peppermint , apple mint , banana mint and pineapple mint, to name but a few. There is even an aquatic species – water mint ( Mentha aquatica) – for growing in ponds. The different mints can vary in appearance as well as flavour – some have larger or smaller leaves that may be downy, smooth or ruffled, purple-tinted or variegated. Others have purple, pink or white flowers, darker stems, or a taller or more ground-hugging nature.

Mint leaves can be chopped and added to many different dishes, hot or cold, sweet or savoury. They can be scattered over buttered new potatoes, added to salads or made into mint sauce to complement roast lamb. Sprigs make a refreshing tea to aid digestion and can be added to summer drinks, including Pimm’s. Mint’s flowers are edible too – see our guide to edible flowers. Directions of Use: Cover your meat evenly with the seasoning, then oven cook, BBQ, grill or stir fry until fully cooked. For an extra level of flavour, leave for 10 minutes or marinate in the fridge overnight. A wide range of herbs, including mint, are grown in all the RHS gardens, so do visit them for more herbal inspiration and growing tips.