If you are new to gardening, you may think planting herbs like rosemary, parsley, or mint is an easy way to start. However, seasoned gardeners will tell you that mint has the potential to get out of control. One grower took to Reddit to complain about not heeding warnings regarding their mint.
The post is a silly hyperbolic lament about the dangers of planting mint in the ground. The gardener wrote: "I was young once. Naive. I'd heard the warnings about mint. It spread faster than I could have ever anticipated. I can't control it. It's spreading to my neighbor's land. I fear I have unleashed a great plague."
They left fellow Redditors with a solemn warning: "Don't be like me. Put it in a pot. God forgive me."
Mint is a great plant if you don't have a green thumb but would like to grow some herbs. But be careful, as the plants do have the potential to spread aggressively. "Most mint plants are invasive, so it's a good idea to restrict their root run by planting them in pots, instead of the ground," said Gardeners' World.
Some folks have chosen to use mint's extraordinary growing powers to their advantage. Heifer International suggests it as a lawn alternative. "Consider Coruscian mint as a lawn replacement. … Don't be scared by reports of mint running rampant — this creeping variety is pretty well-behaved."
Traditional Bermuda grass lawns cover millions of acres of land in the United States and use up a tremendous amount of water and other resources, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council. There are plenty of natural lawn alternatives to try out, including clover. Be careful using something like mint because you don't want to replace a resource-heavy lawn with an invasive lawn that will creep into your neighbor's yards.
Commenters commiserated with the original poster, with several people giving their personal mint horror stories.
"I planted mint and catnip directly into my flower box; now I watch them fight for domination!" wrote one person.
Another warned: "My potted mint sent out a leader a foot away into a crack in the concrete and then made its way into the garden. There is no winning, only fragrant losing."
Someone else added: "Anything that's not Bermuda is welcome to take over my yard."
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