Chocolate mint?

[PocketFaeries]

Is the chocolate mint variety bunny safe?  I’ve got this growing in my garden…and a friend just gave me more of it…and I’d love to share it with Finn as a special treat if it is safe!   I don’t use *any* pesticides and I rinse our garden goodies very well.

[Floppy]

hahaha Not sure if its safe for buns but it sounds delicious to me!

[PocketFaeries]

Oh, Floppy, it is heavenly!  The scent is just like a cup of hot cocoa with a mint sprig in it!   You can take a sprig of the chocolate mint, put it in a jar and pour hot water over it, then let it steep for up to a week in the fridge. It infuses the water with this delicious, fragrant flavor. It’s so refreshing on a hot day, or on a cold one, you can have it as a hot tea with a bit of honey in it.  Mmmmm…..maybe I *won’t* share with Finn, LOL!

(Pause for contemplation)

I will share with Finn after all, if it’s bunny safe. I just love that little fuzzbutt too much to deny any pleasures! (Smack me on the shoulder; I’m a softie).

[osprey]

My guys eat chocolate mint (as well as chocolate basil, which isn’t nearly as chocolatey).  I am growing apple mint, pineapple mint,  spearmint, peppermint (almost done, got hit with powdery mildew) as well as the chocolate mint.  I love growing the mints because they are so easy to do in pots.  I am pretty sure that chocolate mint is just a variety of peppermint.  The only mint I know of that is a definite no for bunnies is Pennyroyal.

[MooBunnay]

Wow – I didn’t know there were so many varieties! I think I’ll have to get some for my bunnies to grow indoors. Osprey – does Pennyroyal go by any other names that I should be aware of? And where does one get these fantastic sounding varieties of mint?

[Scarlet_Rose]

Hmm, not that I can recall. Pennyroyal (M. Pulegium) contains a substance called pulegone that is toxic.  Externally though, it works great as an insect repellent, although the absorption through the skin of the previously mentioned toxic substance….probably not a good idea. I prefer lavender oil instead to repel insects, plus it helps stress! 

 

 

[osprey]

I bought all of these as transplants at a garden center, in the herb section, along with a couple of kinds of basil and oregano.  The buns really like them.  The pineapple mint is a cool looking plant, the leaves are vareigated light green and white.

I have seen Pennyroyal for sale, and it is marked as Pennyroyal, not Mint.  It also looks slightly different, the leaves are smaller and rounder.

[PocketFaeries]

Thanks so much…Finn will be so happy with these findings!  I, too, had no idea so many special mint varieties existed…pineapple?  Wow…I’ll have to think about that! 

Believe it or not, I just got many lovely herbs and plants in the mail today from a wonderfully kind friend…including both chocolate mint and pennyroyal!

Indeed, pennyroyal is quite poisonous when ingested by any living being (us humans, too)!  Agreed: the look of it wouldn’t really be putting you at risk for mistaking it as an edible variety. It’s very pretty, but to my eye, doesn’t look like the mints we consume.

Interesting side note for anyone who wants to know more as Halloween approaches: 

Pennyroyal was one of the key ingredients in "flying balms" used by witches many years ago to induce altered states.  They applied it, combined with other herbs, topically to sensitive areas of the skin, then lay on the floor and waited for the "fun" to begin.  It is this altered state, some call it the astral realm, where the slightly misconstrued idea of witches "flying" on brooms came from.  In reality, they would use their besoms as spiritual tools, symbolically sweeping away negative energy and unkind people. 

We hung some Halloween decorations today. I’m all in the mood for it already!

[Floppy]

OSPREY!!! you need to tell me where to get these plants since we live in
the same area!!! I want to grow these different kinds of mint. Right now
my garden has basil and mint…but just the normal kind…

[osprey]

I get almost all of my herbs at Summerwinds nursery.  It is a small chain.  I usually go to the store in Palo Alto or the one in Mountain View, but there are others around too.  The herbs are mostly a springtime thing; the selection at this time of year is poor.  You can find a store near you on their website.

[(dig)x(me)x(now)]

Wow, so many different kinds of mint plants… I’ve been educated.

[Scarlet_Rose]

Hee hee, and now you must share with Frankie!

[(dig)x(me)x(now)]

Ha, he already has one mint plant! But I want to smell these! Hahaha

[Scarlet_Rose]

Oh, fine, see how you are??!!! LOL

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