When we moved into our current house, we inherited a beautiful garden of mint. I was excited as I had never grown mint before and imagined some wonderful mint tea and mint juleps in the future. As I sipped my tea on the back patio overlooking my garden, I started noticing this beautiful, and very useful, plant’s slow creeping invasiveness.
Although I love having mint in my garden, I battle its ever growing wandering tendencies.
I’ve learned so much since then about these and other “space invaders”: asparagus, horseradish, and strawberries are among my favorites. Fresh strawberries for dessert during the summer, asparagus available at my fingertips, and oh, the punch of great horseradish! I love having access to these plants and don’t want to give that up. Nor do I want to commit my entire garden area to these plants.
The most practical solution is simply giving them a home of their own.
Using smaller containers, like garden boxes, I have provided these plants with their own little home. Using 2’x2’ garden boxes, one for each type of plant, I give them the gift of spreading and filling up their own space. These perennial plants continue to expand year after year and offer an abundance of great food in return…a win/win.