I have written about Monarda, or Bee Balm before, but I am doing it again because I have to gush about how fantastic these plants are in my garden this year. I purchased the plant in the above photo at a garden club sale, and it was labelled “Jacob Cline.” The flower does look red in the photo, but it’s really more of a wine-red, probably the cultivar “Raspberry Wine.”

THIS is Jacob Cline. Much redder in person. Below is a wider view of it growing against the house.

I bought a new cultivar last year, and it has turned out to be the earliest bloomer in my Monarda collection. It’s called “Purple Rooster” and it is rather short, so I have it at the front of the border. It’s slightly gone by, but the photo below will give you an idea of how purple it is.

Actually, now that I look at it, the photo does not give you an idea of how purple it is. (That’s the one downside to digital cameras, They don’t capture nuances of color very well.)

Below is a shot of the two plants growing together. Hopefully this gives you a better idea of the difference in their colors.

My Monarda Fistulosa, aka Wild Bergamot, just began flowering this week. It fills in the back of the perennial border very nicely, and is a pleasing light pink color. This plant is a native that has been known to get unruly, but I have never had that problem. Maybe we’re far enough North.

The front of the house is more or less a wall of Monarda these days, and I have the hummingbirds to prove it. Swarms. Flocks. Hordes. Other pollinators, too.

I’ll be taking a couple of weeks off from the blog. Time for a break from writing! Enjoy your gardens.