It does look like a mint... but there are mints and there are mints. Catnip is a mint. Horehound is a mint. Gill-Over-the Ground is a mint. Plants in the mint family have a squared stem and have paired opposite leaves, as do your plants. A word of caution? If you plant different mints within reach of each other (10 to 20 feet), you will end up with common or wild mint, which has a mild, indistinguishable minty flavor. Mint propogates by sending out runners across or just beneath the surface of the ground, and will cross with any other mint within reach. I grow Spearmint and Peppermint plants in pots separated by about 12 feet of deck space. If your mint tastes like chewing gum or toothpaste, it COULD be Spearmint. Peppermint does have a bite to it - at least it does to me - and after chewing it for a minute or two tastes like peppermint stick candy. The flowers of Spearmint grow in a spike at the tips of the branches. Whichever you have, in order to maintain the flavor, try to get more of the same type of mint to plant with it. Why not dig up some of the plants and scatter them around the orchard? Have you tried cooking with it? Add it to salads or to Middle-Eastern dishes like Spanikopita or Moussaka, Greek soups or spinach dishes, spinach quiche, etc. You can also add it to your tea or just to boiling water or to lemonade for a refreshing drink that will also lower your body temperature by a few degrees. And be sure to dry some to use during the off-season. Hope that helps! - JB Hope that helps?

I think most mums that they sell around here are hardy. They have been forced to bloom early to be in the store. When I've planted them, the blooms turn brown and I shear them off. If they are hardy, they will stay green all summer and come back next year and bloom.

Well, all three of the green potted ones were once the same plant. I just thought one big pot would be nicer looking than 3 little ones. Perhaps I should just share two of them with other members of my family. I'm sure there are some of them who would like to have our grandmother's plant. The other one has a little baby on the side of the pot. I'll probably let it fill that pot. I didn't figure they'd have different care requirements. I was just curious. Until recently I hadn't paid any attention to latin names but recently I've had fun learning all the "real" names of my plants. :-)

Here's a link to images of mine, which is in Western Penn. Predates yours by about 30 years (ours is about 1880), but they seem to have similar bones. At least you can see what yours might look like w/out the porch (south face, remembering that our south face is covered over w/ vinyl, so who knows what it looks like underneath). Our north face has a wide fascia board that's not really obvious on these pics. We took the vinyl off when we redid the small porch roof. On ours, the porch is probably not original adn stoop definitely isn't! I'm anxious to take off the vinyl all around to see if there might've been a porch on the south face originally. There are bones of Greek revival in both, I think. Also, we have an architectural student drawing up an addition for us and he has mentioned Federal style (but I think that's a stretch). But I think, as was mentioned early in the post, it's probably more of a working man's vernacular style (if it's not the Sears home, can't comment on that one). There's a very good book out there on American Architecture: McAlester, V. and Lee McAlester. 1984. A Field Guide to American Houses. Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. I'm sure it's on Amazon, or, if you're not really into *all* of the styles, it might be worth just a checkout from the library. Here is a link that might be useful: Druid's House