Bee Balm

Monarda didyma Panorama  Bee balm. I started the plants from seed. I have lavender, pink, and light pink. The reseed themselves a little in the garden, but not enough to be a pest. This is one I dug up and potted in a 4.5" container and it's doing great. I do not know what color it is yet. I plan on taking more cuttings  of the mature plants. . They get fairly tall, 3.5-4 feet depending on soil moister. Bees and hummingbirds love the flowers. The leaves have a strong musty mint smell when rubbed and are edible as a pot herb or as tea. Flowers can be added to salads.

5/14/10

Bee balm tea:  1 tsp. dried herb, add 1 cup boiling water, steep 10 min. sweeten to taste.

6/4/10

The seeding is well rooted. I need to transfer it to a larger pot now as it's drying to fast and growing like crazy. Will move it to a gallon size and will have to change the price to reflect that. If it doesn't sell at the upcoming plant yard sale I will grow it on until fall then plant it in the garden somewhere. I can always find a place. By then maybe I will see what color it is.

6/6/10

The seedling is budding up as are the ones in the garden.

6/16/10

starting to bloom

6/19/10

6/21/10

7/3/10

Purple

Purple and Pink together.

Week Highlights

• Poor Jack, my favorite dog of all time is having surgery Friday. Nothing "major", he is being neutered but I still worry of course.
• Today I made a few bucks selling plants, and everything I make is going to squirreled away carefully for the most part. Today I sold the shasta daisy (and I have an order for more of them to be started), the bee balm (more to be started as well), a few dozen mix sized hens and chicks and 2 lemon balms. Not too bad at all, eh?
• The Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup...just in case you live in a cave. That's big news for my wonderful husband Crazy Mike. The last time they won was way before Mike or I was born. I never knew anything about hockey but learned so that I could have something in common with Mike.
• The Sparkle strawberries are slowing down now. But the Berries Galore is starting to ripen.
• Sour Cherries are ripening.
• I saw my first Japanese Beetle. I think I am going to try trapping them this year. They are very very bad in my garden and will chew everything to nubs. They are a couple weeks early this year.