MINT

As mint starts to produce flowers, which it will do from midsummer onwards, cut it back to encourage the growth of fresh leaves.

There are many differrent mints but the three to grow for the kitchen are spearmint ( Mentha spicata), pepperata) mint ( Mentha x pipera and apple mint ( Mentha suaveolens). The last of these, perhaps surprisingly, is the most useful of the lot for cooking — though nothing will help you digest your meal so well as a cup of fresh peppermint tea.