Lemon balm

A shrub of lemon balm in your garden gives you a medicine for a variety of medical ailments, as well as the zesty aroma of mint and lemon.

Therapeutic benefits
Lemon balm can be used on the skin and eaten or brewed as a tea for different effects. Crushed lemon balm leaves can be rubbed on the skin to keep mosquitos at bay and to treat insect bites and skin sores. It has also been used to fight fine lines and signs of aging for years, with the Queen of Hungary famously using it in the 1300s. You can make a tea of your lemon balm leaves to help ease colds, fevers, and stomach upsets like indigestion. This diffusion is said to also have a calming effect, so many turn to lemon balm to ease the symptoms of depression, anxiety, insomnia and headaches.

How to grow lemon balm
Plant your lemon balm after the frosty season, ideally in a partially shaded area. Lemon balm likes rich soil, where you should aim for a pH of around 6 to 7. If you pick and harvest your leaves often, adding fertilizer will help your lemon balm to live its best life. Slow release fertilisers or organic nutrients into the soil when planting will give your plant a boost. If your lemon balm plant looks a little sorry for itself, cutting it back will encourage enthusiastic new growth.

Source Of Information : Therapeutic Uses of Common Backyard Trees and Plants