Mint is a willing, accommodating plant. It grows happily where others fail and adds a cool, refreshing dash of summer to dishes and drinks. It’s largely impervious to pests and diseases, so the pristine mint bed is a joy to behold as I battle endlessly with marauding molluscs.

Most gardeners grow the classic spearmint, Mentha spicata. It’s great for lamb stews or adding zest to cool, sparkling drinks - but not my beer, I hasten to add.

Spearmint is a key player in my mint bed. In a cool, damp spot, its flowering spikes reach around a metre, offering a pleasing sight in late summer. But it’s a spreader, so I’ve placed the bed to keep its occupants in check. A wooden fence close to a mixed hedge bordering the road sits on one side, with a grass path on the other.

Alternatively, corral spearmint in a bottomless bucket in the herb garden, provide a bespoke bed, or simply keep in a container on the patio. The plant fills every millimetre of soil within a couple of years, leaving a woody centre, with fresh growth round the perimeter. Then divide the mint and repot in fresh compost.

I like to make a feature of my mint bed, an option that’s equally possible for the patio. Mentha suaveolens, Apple Mint is a little less vigorous than spearmint and has softer, more rounded leaves that feel slightly velvety. The flavour is also a bit softer, with a hint of fruit. The variegated form, Pineapple mint, is a bit more eye-catching. Its soft, crinkly leaves are splashed with cream, making it an altogether more decorative plant. As an added bonus, it’s lower-growing and less vigorous.

I’ve always space for Ginger mint, a cross between our native, low-growing Mentha arvenis, Corn Mint and M. spicata. Although Corn Mint is pretty nondescript, the cross is altogether different. It’s tasty, low-growing and the leaves with golden yellow splashes are appealing.

Although plant breeders have worked hard with M. x piperita, Peppermint, to produce new scents and tastes, I reckon most have only a hint of citrus. There’s frankly very little difference between ‘Orange’, ‘Basil’ or ‘Grapefruit’. But ‘Chocolate Peppermint’ really does work. Brush the leaves and have a nibble: it’s the next best thing to ‘After Eights’.

With all this choice, have a clear idea of what you want from any mints you want to buy. For purely decorative ones, you’ll quickly see what appeals. But for culinary use, pinch and sniff a leaf. If it’s got an astringent, spearmint flavour, it’s ideal for mint sauce or cucumber, while a fruity one does for teas and salads. And when planting, mints do cope with partial shade, but the leaves will be more tasty where sunlight brings out essential oils.

As a special bonus, these plants have very few herbivores other than us. Mint beetle, Chrysolina herbacea, is our only rival, and with its brilliant green, metallic colour it has the decency to look attractive. In summer, you’ll see them crawling over the leaves, and when you shake the leaves, they’ll drop to the ground playing dead They’re hardly a problem and you’ll always find undamaged leaves.

But mint rust, Puccinia menthae, is much more serious. It gradually spreads over the plant in spring and summer, with spores overwintering in the ground ready to repeat the cycle.

Dig up and dispose of affected plants and move unaffected ones to a different place. A flame weeder destroys spores so is the simplest way of cleaning the soil. But don’t replant with any member of the Lamiaceae or mint family.

Plant of the week

Martagon lily ‘Sunny Morning’. Lilies need moist, but not boggy, soil and are happy in part shade. Plant ‘Sunny Morning’ in an east facing position and let its warm, orange flowers glow in the early sun.