Last summer, I shared one of my favorite forage finds – wild oregano. This native plant is in the mint family (Lamiaceae) and grows like crazy. The leaves taste delicious fresh or dried. This summer, I decided to proliferate this volunteer plant in my garden for increased harvest. (A volunteer plant was not deliberately planted by a person and begins growing on its own.) My goal was to have enough to harvest and preserve for culinary use AND be able to designate a “do not touch” section. This designated section was crucial to me discovering why this plant is commonly known as “bee balm”. I wanted to see it for myself.

I established a small, corner patch that I harvested around and waited anxiously for blooms. The patch was getting taller and taller. Then, finally, green flower heads started to form. Every day, I studied their development. I was observing color transitions, plant formation, growth habits, and how nature responded to it all.

I couldn’t believe my eyes once the patch started blooming – 3 feet tall, striking purple clusters. It was one of the funkiest flowers I’ve ever seen in real life! Very quickly, it became clear why this plant is also called “bee balm”. The number of bees that ascended onto this patch and feverishly flew from flower to flower from sunrise to sunset…WOW. It was unlike anything I’ve experienced. I was fortunate to capture a little bumble bee action in the video below.

Hummingbirds have been spotted feasting on the new flower patch too. Many of the flowers are mostly spent now, but I can’t bring myself to cut the patch down yet because the pollinators are still active. Once the winged crew seems to be done with them, I’ll chop the plant to preserve the leaves for cooking and harvest the seeds for cultivation. No doubt, I need to help carry on this wild plant genetics by intentionally planting more of it.

In the meantime, I’ve been sowing the Lemon Mint Bee Balm (Monarda citriodora) seeds that I sourced last year. While it’s too late for me to get blooms, my strategy is to grow them into strong plants this Fall to survive the winter and be ready to SHOW OUT next summer. It’ll bee paradise on the farm! 😉