Gardener Wondered Why Her Mint Plants Were Not Growing Properly — Then She Took a Closer Look

What's interesting about a mint plant is that it is notoriously hard to kill, and it propagates vigorously. When left unchecked, it can spread its territory to the entire garden, often becoming difficult to control, as per The Spruce. Mint's stems and leaves shoot from the planters and creep into the surrounding area, ultimately covering the entire garden in a way that you’ll run short of guests to serve glasses of mojitos. Given this aggressive nature of mint, homemaker Merissa, who goes by @merissammartin on TikTok, was surprised to find that her mint plant wasn’t showing any signs of growth through the week.

A closer look at the plant left her in sheer disbelief. A cute, fuzzy creature was taking a nap. Everybody deserves a good nap on a lazy summer afternoon, but the way this creature was nestling inside made Merissa crack up. But as some viewers said, it was just “mint to be!” “I’ve been wondering why my mint hasn’t been growing in the middle for the last week or so. Today I discovered the culprit,” she described in the video’s overlay text.

The footage in the background displayed a plant pot cradling a cluster of mint. She panned the camera to reveal a detailed view of the plant, and the viewers caught a glimpse of a tawny-colored thing nestling in the green cluster like a fish hiding in a seagrass bed. In another moment, the downy texture of this yellow thing began to move. The quivering figure rose from the dense planter, and as soon as it popped its red head out, Merissa knew it was none other than Butter, her Buff Orpington hen.

When Butter sensed the prying eyes of the camera, it hopped out of the mint and crawled away across the stone pavement. As it did, Merissa touched her plant and exclaimed in disbelief, “Oh my God!” In the caption, she added, “Cool Butter, thanks!” It isn't unusual for Butter to be taking this nap. Another hen parent, Isabel McLauren Sandusky, shared in a Facebook post that her Buff Orpington also likes to take naps throughout the day. "My super sweet buff Orpington has been wanting to sleep all day," she wrote.

The adorable video prompted hundreds of viewers to unspool their humorous thoughts about Butter and the mint plant. Many imagined what this cozy nap would have smelled like, to Butter, given that the bed was made of fresh mint. “Think how amazing that nap would smell,” commented @jennieintheminivan. @allisonbarkley joked, “Butter is marinating herself for you!” @emmanuelchavez said, “She just wants to make sure the mint doesn’t grow out of control.”

Others took Butter’s side with defensive arguments. “Mint is a natural insect repellent, she’s just doing a little preventative treatment,” claimed @becca. @ashleypyley2 quipped, “Butter just wants to smell minty fresh for her guy.” @mooeymom shared a similar experience, “My cat does this to all my potted lanai plants, I even left one with just dirt in it for her and she avoids that one.” Many viewers, including @tinar, reassured Merissa that “mint is resilient, it'll grow back.”

You can follow Merissa (@merissammartin) on TikTok for content related to homemaking, gardening, and cooking.