M is for Monarda

For me, Monarda or Bee Balm has always seemed like a flower that is having a bad hair day. 

At best it looks a bit disheveled, and at worst, it can look like a complete mess.

Flowers with the first flush of youth

This is wild Monarda at dusk in a nearby park...

Now looking a bit worse for wear!

Blooms now spent, the bald flower heads are ready to set seed.

So why do I have flowers that can sometimes downright unattractive in my garden? 

 It is simple: butterflies, bees and hummingbirds simply adore it and that is a good enough recommendation for me. 

I never cease to thrill when I see a hummingbird flitting among these bright red mopheads.

In my back garden, Monarda seems to have a mind of its own. It doesn't always show up where I place it. Instead sets off on road trips, spreading to wherever it finds is a favourable spot.

This spreading habit could be a problem, but I find it relatively easy to yank it out whenever it migrates to a spot I don't want it. 

(In my research for this post, I came across a reference that suggests that Monarda planted in part shade is more prone to a  spreading habit and is less likely to flower profusely. Thinking about it, I have noted that it tends to clump more densely in sun than shade.)

Monarda, Bee Balm in the Healing Garden of Bethesda 

United Church near Hamilton, ON

For most gardeners, Monarda's long history of medicinal use by Native North Americans is just an interesting footnote. The leaves when crushed exude a spicy, highly fragrant oil that has antiseptic properties. (Bee Balm is a natural source of Thymol which is the primary active ingredient in modern commercial mouthwashes). 

All I know is that I love the scent of the leaves as I work amongst the plants!

Monarda 'Raspberrry Wine' Height: 90-120 cm Spread: 60-75 cm Resistant to Powdery Mildew, Sun/Part Shade Mauve flowers in July and August.

Monarda also has culinary uses and apparently tastes like a mix between mint and oregano. One  of these days when I am feeling a bit adventurous, I would like to brew a pot of tea using its leaves, but for now, my experiments have been limited to trying out different colored cultivars.

'Raspberry Wine' is one of my early favourites. It is a bit taller than the common red Monarda and has wonderful maroon flowers.

I also have a soft mauve flower (Monarda didyma 'Panorama Mix') which seems to be struggling a bit in the half-shade of the back garden and may need to be moved to a sunnier location. 

Recently, I discovered a patch of similarly colored wild Monarda (Monarda fistulosa) growing in a local park. Even though its foliage was covered in mildew, it was quite beautiful (pictured above).

Monarda 'Marshall's Delight' Height: 75-120 cm Spread: 60-75 cm Resistant to Powdery Mildew, Sun/Part Shade Mauve flowers in July and August.

My 'Marshall's Delight' has been crowded out by other plants and also needs a new home. The flowers on this cultivar are a great shade of hot pink. Here is a better picture in another garden:

Monarda 'Marshall's Delight' in a private garden in Hamilton, ON

Monarda 'Petite Delight' Height: 30 cm with a compact habit, Spread: 45 cm, Resistant to Powdery Mildew, Sun/Part Shade, Mauve-Pink flowers in July and August.

Monarda, 'Grand Parade'  Seen here in the half-shade of a private Hamilton area garden

Monarda, 'Grand Parade' is a mid-sized Canadian selection. Height: 40-45 cm Spread: 50-60 cm Resistant to Powdery Mildew, Sun/Part Shade, Mauve flowers in July and August.

This is Monarda 'Coral Reef' Height: 90-100 cm Spread: 60-90 cm Resistant to Powdery Mildew, Sun/Part Shade Coral pink flowers in July and August.

I find the lower leaves on my Monarda drop off leaving bare flower stems, so it is good to hide its rather ugly legs with shorter perennials. Companion plants blooming at the same time might include: 

Catmint, Nepeta ' Walker's Low'

Echinacea

Dwarf Calamint, Calamintha nepeta

Phlox- although be careful which variety you choose as a companion plant beacuse both phlox and Monarda are prone to mildew.

Russian Sage

Even though it has a flower that sometimes looks like it is in desperate need of a comb 

Monarda is one plant I can't imagine being without.

My garden alphabet so far: 'A' is for Astilbe, 'B' is for Butterfly, Three 'C's, 'D' is for Delphinium, The Letters 'E' and 'F' , 'G' is for Geranium , 'H' is for Hollyhocks, 'I' is for Iris , 'J' is for Jacob's Ladder, I am skipping K for now because I am stumped for a 'K', 'L' is for Lobelia and now 'M' is for Monarda.

More Information and Links:

Richters Herbs in Goodwood, Ontario has a great collection of Monarda varieties on offer.

The Calm Before the Storm

Local radio stations have been repeatedly broadcasting severe thunderstorm warnings and even a risk of tornados for some parts of the Provence. 

After recent heavy rainfalls and flash flooding, I think we are all a bit gun shy in Southern Ontario. A little over a week ago, a relentless downpour halted traffic, flooded basements and left many parts of the the Greater Toronto Area in darkness for hours. 

Fourteen hundred passengers got trapped on a commuter train when part of the Don Valley filled with storm water. Terrified passengers huddled together on the upper deck of the train while the lower compartments filled with water. Thankfully firefighters and police were able to rescue everyone safely by boat.

In the sunshine this morning it seemed hard to imagine another 

bad storm might be on the horizon.

The roses in the front garden are just about rest before they bloom one 

final time in late summer/early fall.

I find it disheartening to watch Japanese Beetles eat and fornicate all at the same time (Canadian Explorer Series, John Cabot Rose).

They seem to feast on some roses and not others. 

Could it possible that a bug can have a color preference? If so, yellow is a Japanese Beetle's favourite color. They simply adore all my yellow roses!

These more open roses and the fragrant less Fairy roses along the front remain largely untouched (Hybrid Musk rose 'Robin Hood'). 

Daylilies and hostas are carrying most of the show at the moment.

These are the most common daylilies I have, but I still love them.

This is a pretty miniature daylily, which is cream colored when not illuminated by the sun. Hemerocallis, 'Precious D'Oro'

White Swamp Milkweed, Asclepias incarnata 'Ice Ballet'

Ornamental onion, Allium 'Summer beauty'

Double Soapwart, Saponaria officinalis 

I have a quite a number of garden centre clearance items and new plants that are lined up waiting to be planted like cars caught in a rush hour traffic jam. 

Pink Betony, Stachys officinalis, 'Pink Cotton Candy' and Butterfly Weed, Asclepias Tuberosa are among them.

Bee Balm, Monarda,'Rasberry Wine'

This is my jungly herb garden minus the parsley that the bunnies have beheaded.

Hopefully, the storm forecast for this evening never does materialize.

Have a wonderful weekend!

A Small Garden with a Pretty Pond

In the past, I have shown this small, but charming garden only in bits and pieces. It is about time I did a post that put it all back together!

The back garden is a typical suburban lot, but the homeowner has done some very nice things with a property that could otherwise have been quite ordinary.

A cedar hedge was added to create some privacy and raised plantings beds were built around the perimeter of the yard.

Did you notice the edging on all the flowerbeds and the pond? 

It keeps the grass just where it should be and contains the flowerbeds in a way that always looks very neat and tidy.

There is a generous deck right off the back door and overlooking the pond. On the right is a detail of the partition that helps keep this outdoor space private.

Throughout the garden there are little hints that invite you to "walk this way."

Every time I look at the picture of Gooseneck Loosestrife, lysimachia clethrodes I admire it so much that I begin to think of trying to find a spot where I can contain it.  Then I remember how invasive it is and think again.

That is Ligularia on the lower left, with a blooming Heuchera on the lower right, and Lady's Mantel is the lime colored flower just behind it.

I believe this shrub is a Cutleaf Tiger Eyes Sumac, Rhus typhina 'Bailtiger' Tiger Eyes. 

Love that outrageous color!

Bee Balm, Monarda 'Marshall's Delight'

The small pond is set into the natural upward slope of the backyard.

I am sure it must be wonderful to sit on the deck, watch the fish and listen to the waterfall.

Have a really great weekend everyone!