{"product_id":"bishy-barnabees-cottage-garden-lemon-balm","title":"Lemon Balm","description":"\u003cp\u003eBrush past this and you get a cloud of pure sherbet lemon. Lemon balm looks unassuming — bright green and crinkled, rather like a mint — but it is a powerhouse of flavour, and it makes a fresh herbal tea far better than anything from a dried teabag.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe Latin name tells you the other reason to grow it. Melissa is Greek for honeybee, and beekeepers once rubbed the leaves inside new hives to persuade a swarm to settle. Planted near fruit or vegetables it pulls pollinators in reliably.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eUnlike the Mediterranean herbs it actually prefers moisture-retentive ground, which makes it useful on clay and in the cooler corners where thyme and lavender sulk. It is in the mint family but does not run underground; it does self-seed enthusiastically, so remove the flower spikes if you want to keep it in one place. Shear the whole plant back after flowering and it comes again fresh for autumn.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Bishy Barnabees Cottage Garden","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53195298111821,"sku":"LEM-BAL","price":1.75,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0828\/6961\/6973\/files\/Gemini_Generated_Image_m4imm4imm4imm4im.png?v=1771769232","url":"https:\/\/thefoalyard.co.uk\/products\/bishy-barnabees-cottage-garden-lemon-balm","provider":"The Foalyard","version":"1.0","type":"link"}