Telegraph Journal gardening column, Thursday, July 28, 2005

"Bad hair day!" That's one impression that came to mind when I looked at the red bee balm pictures I took for today's column. These wild looking flowers form starbursts of bright bracts (like the 'petals' of poinsettia, which are actually bracts too), held 2-3' off the ground on long single stems. Every so often, they look even wilder when a second flower forms on a mini-stem like an umbrella over the first one. Though the individual flowers are a bit odd looking, the overall effect of a drift of bee balm is quite stunning, in shades of red, pink and purple. It's a relatively long show too, lasting from late July through much of August.

Bee balm (Monarda didyma) is a native North American herb, with a couple other common names that relate to its pleasant characteristics. One is Bergamot, chosen for the gentle fragrance of the flowers, reminiscent of Bergamot oranges. The other is Oswego tea, named for the Oswego Indians, who introduced Europeans to tea made from the plant, as well as other herbal and culinary uses. You can make this mild and soothing tea by boiling the fresh leaves for 10 minutes. Consult herb and cook books for many other uses of bee balm.

Hummingbirds and bees find the bright red flowers, perfume, and nectar irresistible, hence the name bee balm. Planting this perennial is the next best thing you can do to hanging hummingbird feeders, for attracting those frantic little birds. Remember, red is their favourite colour.

I love bee balm in my garden because of its ease of transplanting. Together with another favourite that's in bloom now, evening primrose, I use the two to fill large empty areas in my beds, where I need medium height, and mid-summer bloom. I started three years ago with four or five clumps someone gave me, and I bet I've multiplied them to 10 times that volume. Both species have thick superficial mats of horizontal spreading rhizomes, easy to cut into pancakes of roots with tops intact that move without setback at any time during the season. Be careful not to break the long stems, water the clumps into their new home right away, and you can have instant bloom wherever you'd like. Now, that's feel-good gardening!