Some people compare the smell and taste of costmary (or balsam herb) to wintergreen.

Use its leaves in cooking as you would other mints, but with a lighter hand. Its camphor scent makes it a pleasant addition to a bath or facial steam.

A perennial with handsome foliage, costmary is hardy through Zone 4, grows 3 feet (1 m) tall, is woody at its base, and forms mats with its rhizomes. Silvery hairs cover the serrated leaves, which are up to a foot long at the bottom of the plant, but less than half that at the top. The negligible yellow ray flowers bloom in late summer or early fall, and not at all in partial shade.

Buy small plants, or start from divisions, setting them out in spring in the North, early fall in the South. Space plants a bare minimum of 18 inches (46 cm) apart. Average soil is fine as long as it drains well.

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