Cool Mornings, Minty Surprises

A Garden in Transition

The air has changed. Not drastically, but enough to notice. Enough for the Moroccan mint to surge forward like it’s been waiting for this exact temperature window—cooler than usual for late July, and just right for a plant that prefers the 65–75°F sweet spot.

This particular variety—Mentha spicata var. crispa ‘Moroccan’—isn’t commonly found in Central Texas gardens, but it should be. It’s a bushier, more compact spearmint with crinkled, bright green leaves and a flavor that’s deeper and more musky than standard garden mint. It’s vigorous but not unruly, thriving in partial shade or morning sun, and it adapts well to containers, raised beds, or tucked corners of herb gardens.

This week, the garden feels like it’s exhaling. The echinacea is hosting bees and butterflies with steady grace, the scarlet sage is throwing red flags for hummingbirds, and the wild petunia is still tucked low, blooming beneath the radar. But it’s the mint that caught me off guard—fragrant, flavorful, and suddenly abundant.

I’ve started picking it in the mornings, when the leaves are cool and crisp. It’s perfect for a mocktail, especially one with ginger and lime. The kind of drink that matches the season’s shift: refreshing, grounded, and a little unexpected.

There’s something about this cooler weather that invites noticing. The garden isn’t rushing—it’s recalibrating. And I’m trying to do the same.