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A wide variety of plants growing in the Medieval Herb Garden on a sunny day

Medieval herb garden blog 92: Lemon balm

Tuesday, October 13, 2026

Week 92 volunteer update

A dull but fine morning to work in the garden today.

We had a few of our regular visitors and a couple from America who were intrigued by the black cat who roams the castle - they had hoped it was one of the ghosts!

Kim gave a haircut to the rosemary which trails over the wall and weeded and removed the leaves. It was easy to weed as the resident ivy bees have turned the soil into a very fine almost sand consistency. She uncovered saffron peeping through.

She then moved on to weeding the area in front of the lavender on the main garden.

$Saffron beginning to grow from the soil at Pontefract Castle.$

Saffron starting to emerge at the Castle!

Plant of the week: Lemon balm (melissa officinalis)

Lemon balm gets its name from the Arabic word 'līmūn', meaning citrus fruit, via Old French and Middle English. 'Balm' comes from the shortened English word 'balsam', derived from the Greek word 'balsamōn'. This refers to 'an oily, sweet-smelling resin or a healing, soothing, herbal ointment'.

'Melissa' is the ancient Greek word for 'honeybee', which comes from 'meli' meaning 'honey'. Circa 300BC, Greek polymath Theophrastus called the plant 'melissóphyllon', meaning 'bee-leaf', because bees love it. 'Officinalis' comes from Latin and means 'in use pharmaceutically' or belonging to an 'officina' (a storeroom of a monastery or apothecary where medicines were kept).

Lemon balm is also known as sweet balm, melissa or melissa balm, Pimentary, Heart’s Delight, Honey Plant, English Balm, Balm Mint, Cure-All, Dropsy Plant, Sweet Mary.

Native to the Mediterranean and Southern Europe, lemon balm may have been introduced to Britain by the Romans. It is an aromatic, herbaceous, deciduous, perennial plant. It prefers to grow in full-sun to partial-shade, in any well-drained soil, in a south or west-facing position.

Lemon balm grows to a height of 30 inches (76 cm) with a spread of 18 inches (46 cm). It produces upright, square stems with oppositely arranged leaves, up to 3 inches (7.6 cm) in length and 2 inches (5 cm) wide. The leaves are attached to the stems by relatively long petioles which become smaller towards the upper parts of the plant. The leaves are soft, ovate to broadly ovate with crenate-serrated edges. They are bright to medium green, slightly wrinkled in appearance, and have prominent veins, particularly on the underside. They are covered with fine hairs and glandular structures containing aromatic oils. It is the oils which give the foliage its lemon fragrance when crushed.

Lemon balm flowers between June and August. The flowers are small, delicate, and bilaterally symmetrical. They develop in loose clusters in the leaf axils along the upper stems. The flowers are typically white to pale yellow or cream, with the two-lipped, tubular flower shape found in many members of the mint family. Each flower has a five-lobed green calyx and a bilabiate corolla (0.5 inches long), with the lower lip divided into three lobes.

Lemon balm develops a fibrous, shallow to moderately deep root system arising from a short, branched crown at the base of the plant. The roots are generally fine and pale to light brown, with numerous smaller lateral roots. As the plant matures, the root system becomes more dense and spreads outward from the crown.

Lemon balm produces small, smooth, dark brown to black nutlets (seeds) which develop within the plant’s four-lobed fruit. Each flower produces up to four individual seeds.

Lemon balm growing in the Medieval Herb Garden.

Culinary uses of lemon balm

Lemon balm adds a mild, citrus flavour with a hint of mint to both sweet and savoury dishes. Heavy chopping can bruise the leaves and make them taste “like grass”. They should be torn for the best flavour and added to the dish at the last minute to preserve flavour.

Lemon balm can be used with fish and poultry as stuffings, marinades or rubs. The leaves can be added to salads, grain dishes and fruit salads, or added to herb butters, pestos or vinaigrettes.

Lemon balm leaves are also used as a garnish for ice cream, custards, tarts, and sorbets. It can also be used to infuse a flavour into sugar for later use. Steeping the leaves can make herbal teas, simple syrups for cocktails, or flavoured water.

Use of lemon balm as a dye plant

Lemon balm can be used to produce soft yellowish-brown, green, or even rose-coloured tones. It is more commonly used for direct botanical printing where fresh leaves are hammered directly on to fabrics to release the green pigment and leave a leaf print.

Research has shown that dyeing wool with lemon balm can give it semi-durable antimicrobial, antioxidant and UV-protective properties.

Folklore and other facts about lemon balm

In folk magic, planting lemon balm by the doorway was said to draw joy, love, and gentle fortune to those who entered. Wearing it about your person invoked 'witch magic' to help and protect.

Carmelite nuns in France used lemon balm to create Eau de Mélisse (Carmelite water). This is an alcoholic tonic meant to soothe nervous tension and headaches.

Historically, the whole plant was used as a strewing herb to freshen rooms, and the oil for polishing furniture. Lemon balm essential oil is frequently used in bathing and cosmetic products such as soap bars, lotions, face creams etc, as well as in the creation of perfumes.

Lemon balm is one of the main ingredients in the liqueurs Chartreuse and French Benedictine.

In the 9th century, Emperor Charlemagne drank lemon balm tea for longevity. He ordered that it be grown in all monastery and apothecary gardens.

John Hussey, a farmer, formerly of Crawford in Kent and later of Sydenham, died in April 1748. An apparently contemporary record gives his age as 116 and says that for more than fifty years he had taken balm tea sweetened with honey for breakfast.

Medieval medicinal uses of lemon balm*

Lemon balm was used to treat heart disease, colds, fevers, catarrh and influenza. It also treated sores, wounds, and stress-related stomach and digestive ailments, reducing excessive wind and stomach cramps. It was even used as a cure for vomiting. It was used to alleviate the effects of the King’s Evil (scrofula), gout, and the 'bitings of venomous beasts and mad dogs.'

It was seen as a cure for leprosy, headaches, as a relaxant for restorative sleep and to used to ease anxiety and physical stress. The herbalist John Gerard (1597) wrote that the plant was “sovereign for the brain, strengthening the memory and powerfully chasing away melancholy.” Pliny the Elder (77 AD) wrote that lemon balm was so powerful 'if applied to a sword injury the blood would dry and the wound would quickly heal'.

However, lemon balm should not be overly used by people with thyroid disorders, diabetes, low blood pressure and glaucoma, or those using HRT, sedatives, or CNS depressants.

*Needless to say, this isn't to be considered medical advice from us to you today! No herbs mentioned in these blogs should be used as medicine without advice from a doctor.

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