- Mint really is the Hulk of the herb garden—once it’s out, it’s not going back quietly. I’ve seen it crawl under pavers before, no joke.
- For puddles, I’ve had luck with a layer of gravel under the planters. It helps with drainage and keeps the patio from turning into a slip-n-slide.
- If you’re still getting splashback, try a strip of artificial turf along the edge. It soaks up a surprising amount and looks decent.
- Double-potting is genius, but I’ve also lined pots with landscape fabric to keep roots from sneaking out. Mint’s sneaky, but not that sneaky... usually.
Mint is relentless. I’ve had it pop up three feet away from where I planted it, and it somehow found a crack in old concrete. Total takeover artist.
For puddles, I’ve had luck with a layer of gravel under the planters. It helps with drainage and keeps the patio from turning into a slip-n-slide.
Gravel’s solid, but I’ve also used those big plastic drainage mats under planters for rentals. They’re not as pretty, but they keep water off the deck and make cleanup easier when tenants move out. Artificial turf is a good call for splashback, but I’ve noticed it can get a bit funky if you don’t rinse it off every now and then.
Double-potting works, but I’ve had mint bust through landscape fabric before. If you’re really worried, I’d go with a full-on plastic barrier. Not the prettiest, but it gets the job done. Sometimes you’ve got to pick function over looks, especially if you want to avoid a mint invasion.
Mint is basically the Houdini of the herb world. I tried to keep mine in a pot, but it still managed to send runners out the drainage holes—like, how determined can a plant be? I’ve never tried those plastic drainage mats, but now I’m curious if they’d help with my constant puddle situation. Has anyone had issues with them getting gross underneath, or do they stay pretty clean? I get what you mean about function over looks... sometimes you just have to accept a little ugly to keep the chaos at bay.
Honestly, I tried those plastic drainage mats last summer and they turned into a science experiment under my pots—lots of gunk and weird smells. I ended up just using a couple bricks to lift the pots instead. Not pretty, but way easier to clean. Sometimes cheap and ugly wins out over fancy solutions...
Sometimes cheap and ugly wins out over fancy solutions...
Funny how that works—my old house is full of “cheap and ugly” fixes that just keep going. I tried those mats too, but honestly, bricks or even old tiles seem to do the job with way less mess. Guess function beats form sometimes.
