Melissa officinalis

On Monday, Rob forwarded me the link to the Race for the Cure results; I was 12th overall with a time of 21:59, which is definitely the fastest I’ve ever run a 5K. Seriously, I didn’t know I had it in me.

While Rob and I were gone over the weekend, our friends John and Cara made a surprise delivery of some tomato and eggplant seedlings for our garden. It was dark when we got back on Sunday night, but when I went past the window on Monday morning, I was quite delighted to see the seedlings. Having the surprise seedlings put me in the mood to do some work outdoors. I planted the seedlings, and while I was out in the yard, I noticed several patches of lemon balm (scientific name: Melissa officinalis) growing on the south side of our house. It smells really good: so light and fresh and clean. When you touch the leaves, it makes your hands smell like lemons. I brought some inside and put it in a salad. Quite tasty. I think you can also use it to make a tea. Lots of options here. Its always exciting to be able to forage in your own yard.

(Note: I also entered final grades for my class and finished up a draft of my methods chapter, so the day wasn’t all fun and games outdoors).

Today I did some more planting, and in the evening I chatted a bit with my next door neighbors about the garden. They came over and we investigated some of the things that were growing in various corners of the yard. Much to my surprise, they found a couple of onion patches along the fence between our properties. Onions in my own yard! How cool is that. I brought one inside and put it in a stir-fry I made for dinner tonight.

If the bunnies and squirrels and Japanese beetles eat all the things I planted in the garden, at least I will still have lemon balm and onions growing in the yard!