But it was worth a try. I added a tablespoon of peppermint oil to the water when I washed the floor, and rubbed peppermint oil onto the wooden benches and skirting boards. And the ants vanished. Ten years later, they have not returned. Sometimes ‘old wives’ really do know a thing or two.

When I was a kid, every garden had a patch of mint by the back stairs where a few leaves could be grabbed to make mint sauce for the roast lamb, or chopped into the fruit salad or, if one was really fancy, used to decorate a glass of pineapple juice.

We just called it ‘mint’ back then - I don’t think anyone in the neighbourhood ever dreamt there was more than one kind of mint, much less thousands of varieties of mint, and about 25 species of Mentha, all hybridising promiscuously. This is possibly appropriate as ‘mint’, or mentha, is called after the nymph Minthes, who was turned into a mint bush by Pluto's jealous wife Proserpine, so she would be trampled under peoples' feet forever.

Nowadays you can buy at least three or four kinds of mint at most garden centres, and herb nurseries will sell at least a dozen. Like the common mint of my childhood, they are real survivors. If you want a totally undeserved reputation for your varied herb garden, just fill it with different mints! And every garden needs at least three. Give all of them full sun, or dappled shade in hotter areas, and moist fertile soil - and watch out they don't take over!

PS: I still love mint sauce, if it's left to mature as all sauces containing vinegar should be, and mint does give a lovely piquancy to fruit salad!

English Mint (M longifolia): This is one of the ‘mint sauce' mints, with long coarse leaves and less green than many other mints. Look for ‘curly mint’ with its attractively twisted leaves. It tastes the same as ‘ordinary’ mint but looks divine, especially in a large and extremely decorative pot, or a long and decorative pot on the windowsill. Culinary mint (Mentha spicata v crispata) is another of the mints used for mint sauce, and has crinkly bright green leaves.

Black peppermint (Mentha x piperata): This is a hybrid between spearmint and wild water mint. It is used to produce mint oil, and has the highest oil content of any variety. It is widely used medicinally and for mint tea.

White peppermint (Mentha piperata v officinalis): Slightly higher in menthol than black peppermint and the leaves are a clearer green. Pour one cup of boiling water over 1 tablespoon of fresh or dried herb. Drink hot or cold, and sweeten to taste.

Eau de cologne mint (Mentha piperata v citrata): The classic mint julep mint, with dark green, purple-tinged leaves and pretty pale purple flowers on tall spikes. It is intensely fragrant. It’s also my favourite in fruit salads or drinks - tear the leaves and put them in the glass before you add the water or ice, so they crush it just a little bit more to release the fragrance.

Vietnamese mint (Polygonum mentha): Totally essential and almost unkillable, this variety is delicious chopped into a million kinds of salad, stir-fry or fish dish. It’s not a true mint, but likes the same moist conditions. It has long, slightly variegated leaves in green and purple tinged with yellow. (This sounds spectacular but the plant is rather dull). It tolerates light frost but heavy frost kills it. It will grow in light shade in warm areas to full sun in cooler districts. In cold winters like ours, it will survive in a heavy stone pot on a sunny paved area sheltered by the warmth of the house. Like all mints, it dies back in very cold winters, but returns - you hope - in summer.

Bung these in, keep them weed free, water when you or the sky gets round to it, and you will have a totally underserved reputation as a most excellent herbal gardener.