ميليسا (بلسم الليمون)

The tea from these leaves is genuinely calming—I’ve been sipping it before bed and sleeping deeper. The lemon scent is so strong that I actually noticed fewer mosquitoes hanging around the patio.

Steeped a handful of fresh leaves in hot water for about five minutes and the tea was wonderfully calming, just as described. The lemon scent is strong enough that I noticed fewer mosquitoes around the plants this week. Even though it self-seeded a bit, I'm happy to have more next year.

Planted these around the patio and the mosquitoes have definitely backed off. The lemon scent is strong but pleasant, and I'm looking forward to trying the leaves for tea once the plant gets bigger.