With summertime officially in full swing, I’ve been feeling extra grateful for the lemon-y scented herbs in my garden and the liveliness they bring to the table. With today being the summer solstice, now is the perfect time to learn how you can incorporate the delicate herbal and citrus flavors of summer into your day-to-day, while they’re fresh and bright.
Solstices are also a good time to reflect on how people have appreciated the same plants you have in your garden for hundreds (or thousands) of years, and meditating on those connections as you tend to your garden is an awesome and powerful feeling. Here are three of my favorite lemon-scented herbs that are now staples of my garden, and how I enjoy them.
Lemon Balm, Melissa officinalis
Lemon balm is a gorgeous leafy green herb native to the Mediterranean, southern Europe, Iran, and central Asia, known for its sedative and soothing properties since ancient times. You may also see lemon balm referred to as bee balm or melissa, which is the Greek word for “honeybee.” When used as an herbal medicine in things like teas, tinctures, and salves, lemon balm works as a mild, calming sedative to reduce anxiety and insomnia, and can help treat wounds when applied topically. In researching the historical legacy of lemon balm, I found that it was a sacred herb used in the ancient Greek temples of Artemis/Diana, which is enough of a reason to plant it for me! Later on, the 12th century herbalist and nun Saint Hildegarde von Bingen said “Lemon balm contains within it the virtues of a dozen other plants.” More on Hildy another day, for sure.
Lemon balm plants can be started from seed indoors in the late winter, and then set out as transplants into larger pots once the danger of freezing has passed. I tried direct sowing seeds outside last year, but the seedlings never made it past the super cute little leafy stage. This year, I picked up a six-cell windowsill tray (Jiffy brand) at Home Deport and got going in early March. I highly recommend this method if you’ve got limited space and limited time to devote to getting a seed starting mix just right.
Last year, a friend gifted me a large jar of lemon balm tincture made with homegrown plants, which I strained into brown glass bottles for longterm storage. This year, I’ll experiment with making topical salves for skin irritations, and adding the crushed leaves fresh to drinks and various salads.
Lemon Thyme, Thymus citriodorus
I feel like I didn’t give thyme the appreciation it deserves until last year, so should out to thyme, you go thyme! Native to the Mediterranean, lemon thyme is super chill and just does its thing as part of a container garden, not really causing any fuss as a shrubby herb. It lasts longer into the fall than most of my other herbs, so you get more out of the fresh stuff as the cooler months come on. Lemon thyme is fluffy and fragrant, and I like to add a few sprigs or rough chop to release the oils when cooking summer pastas or fish.
This year, I picked up Silver Queen lemon thyme to grow alongside my other plant in the same container. I love the contrasting shades of green and grey (silver), plus the pale purple stems of the Silver Queen. And with a name like that, I had to take her home with me!
Lemon thyme is also a powerful medicinal herb with antiseptic properties, if you’ve done your research and know how it may affect you. I’ve made lemon thyme tea from fresh sprigs when my partner was having some late evening tooth pain or a sore throat and we didn’t have anything else to help, and I’ve just recently plucked a piece to chew on when I had a small cut in my lip. Thymol is one of the primary components of Listerine, after all!
Though there’s been much confusion about whether or not lemon thyme is simply another type of thyme, it is in fact its own species. More on common thyme in another post, because that one has badass folkloric connections with courage, temple smoke cleansing, and fairies.
Lemon Verbena, Aloysia citrodora
Fresh lemon verbena straight up smells like summertime Italian ices, and I love it. The nostalgia factor is real. Lemon verbena has historical been used by the perfume and fragrance industry, though it’s also a popular flavoring for marinades and in baking. Native to South America, lemon verbena was brought back to Europe by colonizers in the 17th century, where they began to cultivate it for its oil.
Lemon verbena is a pretty common ingredient in herbal tea blends, but so far, my only experiment has been to make a tincture with fresh, roughly cut-up leaves. If you’re a fan of making mixed drinks and cocktails at home, lemon verbena is also your friend. I imagine lemon verbena would work well in a gin and rosemary cocktail, so if anyone wants to give it a go, you know where to find me!
Because I rarely pick up lemons or lemon juice when I’m grocery shopping (go team limes!), having a couple different types of lemony herbs on hand is super satisfying. Whether it’s making a DIY witchy mouthwash, brewing a healing tea, cooking, or simply shoving your face in the pot for an instant mood boost (no judgement here), lemon-scented herbs are how I’m choosing to welcome the summer solstice and longest day of the year.
To end on a sweet note, adding a few sprigs of dried lemon thyme, balm, or verbena to a small jar of honey makes for a quick, thoughtful gift any time of the year. Letting the herbs infuse into the honey helps develop a mellow lemony flavor. You should turn over the jar everyday for at least a few days to ensure the plant material stays coated. For safety reasons, it’s important that the plant material be completely dried. But this just means you can turn your house into the apothecary of your dreams, hang drying bunches of fragrant, beautiful herbs and flowers. Happy solstice, my dears.