Photogenic Friday

Plant: Eastern Bee Balm, Monarda bradburiana 

Monarda bradburiana is one of my personal “top ten” plants. It’s a dramatically underused plant with a (currently) small following, a following it certainly does not deserve. Most Monarda you’re likely familiar with have  a high susceptibility to diseases like Powdery Mildew, leaving them totally defoliated and 100% ugly around July and August. Monarda bradburiana on the other hand is still boasting a mass of deep green, glossy leaves as of the first of October, soon to turn a deep, rich burgundy as temperatures cool.

Disease resistance and fall color aside (but none the less important), let’s talk about their height, bloom time, and color. As you can see from the above picture, M. bradburiana tops out at around 12″ max, making it a great selection for interplanting with other perennials and grasses (as seen above). Also… are those seriously Alliums coming into bloom around it? Absolutely! Where most Monarda bloom in mid to late summer, M. bradburiana blooms in late spring to early summer, supporting their mass of attractive, bubble-shape seed heads throughout the rest of the year and into Winter (another win!). This opens up new potential for playing with the Monarda flower form earlier in the season.

If I haven’t convinced you to fall in love, then allow me to tempt you with a few more sexy photos of Brady, (my affectionate nickname for this fantastic plant). Enjoy! And enjoy the wonderful Autumn weather this weekend, wherever you are.