Bee Balm in the Garden
Summer is here and the garden is in full bloom! I was able to get outside and snap some image of my Bee Balm. It’s so pretty as it spreads, and creates an amazing swath of red across the yard. It’s such an easy perennial too.
Bee Balm ( Monarda) really lives up to it’s name. The bees, butterflies and hummingbirds really love it’s flowers. It grows to almost 3 feet tall and spreads on runners, so plant it in an area where it can spread aggressively, or create a barrier or landlocked area where it can’t. It thrives in full sun, but will also do really well in shade. it comes in a few colors including purple and is in the mint family. The biggest issue with Bee Balm is it’s prone to powdery mildew, which makes it a little gross looking at times, but it holds on long enough to still be worth growing for me.
It was so loud that I could hear the buzz across the garden. I love that it attracts so many pollinators. I can literally pull up a chair and watch them all hustle in their busy work of gathering pollen.
Bee Balm blooms mid-summer from about early July to Mid-July. I think the flowers look almost like fireworks and love that they bloom right around the 4th of July.
Can I tell you, the bumblebees were mutant HUGE and love it! I understand Monarda might also be edible and this post has more information on how to use it. I always say do a lot of research before consuming anything from the yard.
I have a little section of my yard by the Bee balm I refer to as Meadow Lane
So I used this technique to make a new “old” sign for it in French. It feels like a meadow with all of the native flowers like bee balm and coneflowers!
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