“Mom,” my six-year-old called from the front walk where he had been riding his bike back and forth. He had paused in front of my display of red and purple, firework-like flowers and admired them. At an age where he wanted to know everything, it wasn’t unexpected that he would ask about the different flowers in my garden.
I looked up from the other end of the garden where I had been pulling up the weeds. “Yes, dear?”
“What are these called?” He was obviously fascinated by the flower, its vibrant color and unusual shape.
“Bee balm,” I said, choosing one of the easier names to identify the plant, knowing the other names, like bergamot, monarda, horsemint, or oswego tea might sound too abstract and lose something in the translation. Even the fact that it was part of the flowering plants of the mint family, Lamiaceae, a North American genus, would be lost on my son’s young mind. He was obviously captivated by the simple bee balm name, so may as well stick with it.
“蜜蜂的屁股?”他看了我一眼。“真的吗?”
I tried to correct him, then gave up. If he wanted to call it a bee bum, who was I to argue? The plant was a good pollinator, after all, and it did attract a lot of bees. And hummingbirds. Until I had a healthy patch of bee balms in my garden, I hadn’t been privileged with the appearance of a hummingbird. Now, even in my tiny garden in the busy suburb, hummingbirds were attracted to my bee balms. Delightful to watch.
One flitted past my son and made for one of the flowers, hovering as it stuck its long, pointed beak into the heart of the red puff.
“Is that a hummingbird?” my son asked, equally fascinated as I was.
I nodded my head. “It likes the nectar of bee balms.”
“And there’s a bee, too, Mom.” He pointed. “Now I know why it’s called a bee bum. Because bees like to bum around them.”
I chuckled and returned to my weeding; my son resumed biking up and down the drive.
那段美好的回忆一直伴随着我。当我搬到乡下时,我必须带着我的蜂脂(或屁股)。我知道他们会做得很好。我希望它们能吸引很多蜂鸟。多年来,我的蜂脂已经遍布我的财产,我很高兴地说,蜂鸟,蝴蝶和蜜蜂享受健康的花朵每年7月。
Bee Balm: A Hardy Perennial
Bee balms, with their whorled flowers, come in red, fuchsia purple, pink, and white. Grown well in soil that’s too wet or too dry, it’s a sturdy, spreading perennial that survives in many extreme conditions. I’ve had numerous seasons of drought, and although the leaves droop from lack of water, the flowers survive and continue to multiply.
I’ve also had seasons of too much rain, with flood-like conditions, and the bee balm has survived. In fact, the last season that was too wet, we had numerous double headed bee balms.
Since bee balm multiplies and spreads well, it’s a good plant to share with friends and transplant to different areas of the garden. My first bee balm was a gift from a friend. It started with a small patch in my urban garden, many of which I transplanted to my country property.
我有紫色和红色的品种,它们成功地在我的许多菜园里蔓延,经受住了干旱和洪水的考验。我喜欢看蜂鸟,尤其是它从一束又一束蜂香花中吸取花蜜的样子。
A Beneficial Addition For Pollinators
The bee balms not only grow in different colors, they also grow to different sizes. The red is usually the bigger of the varieties. Perhaps that’s why the hummingbirds enjoy my red bee balms more than my purple, which is a smaller perennial. Since the plant is a good pollinator, it makes a good companion plant for other plants, like squash, that depend on the bees for pollination.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BlkpTr1gmRN/?tagged=beebalm
And while it attracts the pollinators, it resists the more destructive animals like rabbits and deer. Don’t get me wrong. I do love watching the elegant deer grazing in the fields and bounding through the woods, and the rabbits, especially the large jackrabbits, hopping around, but I don’t appreciate their ability to demolish an entire garden (usually mine) with great relish.
蜂脂很容易生长,它通过土壤下的根状茎(地下茎)传播。这种植物喜欢阳光,但它也可以忍受部分荫凉的地方,这是一件好事,因为我的花园大部分都被小树林包围着。它是一种很容易生长和维护的植物,但它也像大多数其他植物一样存在问题。
Powdery Mildew Problems
In the hot, humid weather of its June to late-summer growing season, the leaves often become dotted with powdery mildew, a white dust on the lower and middle leaves. It can cause deformation of the plant, defoliating it of leaves and leaving behind barren stems.
虽然没有太多办法来防止这种霉菌,但去除受感染的叶子将有助于防止它的传播。如果植物生长在空气流通良好的地方,那么霉变就会少一些。遗憾的是,你可能永远无法完全消除它;但是,尽管被霉菌感染的蜂油可能很难看,但霉菌不会杀死植物,它还会年复一年地继续生长。
Bee Balm Uses
Since it’s a major pollinator and attracts pollinating insects and birds, it’s not surprising that bee balm has some medicinal and edible attributes for humans as well. The petals from the flowers (though not the entire flower head) are edible and make a colorful garnish for salads. They can be used fresh or dried in both salads and cooked foods.
The leaves can be brewed into a very aromatic tea. It is commonly used as a cure for colds, but it’s also a good treatment for headaches, fever, sore throats, and gastric disorders. There are many other uses for bee balm preparations in alternative medicine, including a medicinal application for skin infections. The fragrant leaf and flower make it a good herb when dried for potpourri and sachets. The entire flower also dries well for dried flower arrangements.
Personally, I’m more interested in the beauty of this flower, one that blooms for most of the summer, than in its culinary and medicinal benefits. The vibrant colors remind me of a display of fireworks on a clear summer night. The fact that it attracts a great army of pollinators is an added bonus.
During a wetter-than-usual summer, you might even get lucky enough to see some rare double-headed bee balm –bonus! Plant the bee balms with equally colorful and prolific coneflowers and evening primrose, as I have done, and you’ll have an instant collage of color and diversity with the benefit of easy care.
Kate Johnsonsays
作为一名新园丁,我不知道夏天过后该怎么处理这些植物。我是要把它们拔出来,还是剪掉它们?
perplexed in Pa
Kate
Emily-Jane山奥福特says
Photo/Attachment:
I leave the garden cleanup till spring. The flowers will then re-seed and the added benefit is that the flower stalks will provide shelter for pollinators like honeybees.
Ed Hambrocksays
It’s was great hearing about double headed bee balm I noticed them last year and I have more coming this year they are beautiful
Karen Klimkowskisays
I planted a pkt of Bee Balm plants in pot and haven’t been blessed with any flowers yet. They were planted in May or beginning of June. They’re growing and leggy but no blooms. They get sun for a be out 4 and a half hrs. Could that be why?
Emily-Jane山奥福特says
Hello Karen – Bee Balms don’t do very well in pots. They should be planted right in your garden.
Margaret Ricktersays
The Bee Balm Seeds that I planted at my Daughter’s home last year grew alongside Batchelors Buttons in a large “Barrell half” pot. Both grew well, but the Bee Balm never developed any blooms. They grew leaning toward the front of their house (a Bush was blocking the natural light.) The Bush was 1/2 dead (2 planted together & 1 was dead) This Spring we cleaned out that area & trimmed the remaining bush…and the Bee Balm took off! It is probably ~3 feet tall and have HUGE Buds. I can’t wait for them to open. Unfortunately, the Batchelor Buttons got crowded out!
Teresa Hastingssays
Hi, I have those same dark brown splotches on my Monarda leaves that are shown in your second photo. Do you know what causes this? If I don’t pluck the leaves showing these splotches, it spreads quickly, the leaves turn black, shrivel and fall off. I have searched the web and your photo is the only one I’ve found with the same splotches. They look like the leaf is starting to burn.