Isn’t she beautiful? Melissa is one of my favorite herbs. She is a mint (Lamiaceae), so she will spread, but mine has been exceptionally well-behaved. She stays in a raised bed made of a tractor tire, hanging out with her friend Violet (Viola odorata).

Lemon balm looks a lot like mint, but if you crush a leaf, it smells like lemon Pledge. It is very aromatic, and makes a really nice tea alone (but even better if some friends are added!) Like all mints, it has a square stem (try rolling it between your fingers and you will feel what I mean), flowers all along the stem interspersed with opposite leaves. It is a perennial here in Colorado, but I had a harder time getting it started well – at least it took more time and effort than motherwort, horehound, or peppermint.

Lemon balm is a warm, slightly dry herb that is an amazing nervine. Drinking a cup of tea just takes everything down a notch or two. According to Charles Garcia, https://www.instagram.com/curandero50/, lemon balm in white wine is great for emotional trauma. Celestial Seasonings also makes a tea with the major ingredient being lemon balm called Tension Tamer.

The picture for Melissa off. is one of anxiety and depression – palpitations, unable to get grounded or turn off that excited hamster in your brain. It also helps with hyperthyroidism.

One of the common ways that I use it is for cold sores. Lemon balm is an amazing anti-viral, especially for herpes simplex. A tincture of half lemon balm, half peppermint is great to dab onto a beginning cold sore, stopping it almost immediately. That tincture blend is also great for settling down people that are anxious and unable to relax. I add lemon balm to my elderberry elixir as an added boost for fighting winter viruses (or is that virii??).

Lemon balm is contraindicated in hypothyroidism (it interferes with TSH binding to thyroid cell membranes) and pregnancy (it can be a uterine stimulant).