Today I present part two of the great bee balm bloom explosion around here now. It's now at the peak of its bloom time. I did spot a hummingbird visiting briefly back in this patch we have in the northwest corner of our backyard but it flew away so quickly I didn't have a chance to catch him (and I even had the camera around my neck!) Note the surprise hollyhock in the midst at the front ... from the house I was convinced this was a weed, but was pleasantly surprised to learn it's another hollyhock that escaped the wascally wabbits. Next time they go marauding in the garden, I'm calling Wallace and Gromit!
Here's a closer shot of the plants at the edge of this bed, which they are now colonizing so aggressively that we may need to do some serious thinning if we find anyone who will take some and give it a good home ...
Here we have a coneflower being engulfed ... we've always had a few coneflowers back here, but they haven't been able to keep up with the Bee Balm. Just to the left you can see the pods on the Baptisia bush, which is also gradually being engulfed as well ... there's definitely some Bee Balm coming out of that area back here. 
And finally, of course I had to do one close up just for fun ...I just love shooting Bee Balm. As for the color, as our garden sensei and friend always says: "The only thing better than red is more red!"
6 comments:
I've been having computer difficulties lately that prevented me from leaving you a comment. Glad it's working now. I don't know if I'm more afraid of the Wererabbit or Monarda. It seems to be out to conquer your garden. But if it brings hummers, I'd be willing to give it a try.
Wow, those guys are taking over for sure! Hm: attracts bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds; has a tendency to take over… sounds like a butterfly bush!
Hi MMD!
Sorry to hear about the computer gremlins, I totally understand too, because Blogger has been really glitchy for me a lot recently.
Actually hope you've seen the Wererabbit, it's a very cool and fun movie. Didn't mean to scare you off the Monarda ... it's not that bad and those shots were of a bed where very little has been removed in over 8 years...
I was sorry I had some inadvertent Bee Balm stalks today out front ... we're on the warpath (e.g. scorched weed policy) against this rogue Heliopsis (Oxeye sunflower) that was here when we arrived. We thought it was really pretty for a couple of years until we realized it was intent on world domination. We dug all the larger clumps and pulled individuals ... hopefully we can eradicate it this year! (a guy can dream, eh?)
Yo FAR!
I suspect it might like your climate, but it's really a great plant, and I neglected to say that it also smells great... since it's a mint it has a fragrance that smells very fresh of orange. Nice, and some people even make tea out of the leaves. (e.g. Oswego or Bergamot tea).
Your monarda is beautiful, IVG, and a welcome sight to formerly Midwestern eyes. Beebalms used to verge on being invasive in IL, but down here I've bought red beebalm a couple of times, planted it in 4 places and barely see leaves, let alone blooms.
The firework photos were fun - glad you had a good holiday.
Annie at the Transplantable Rose
Hi again, Annie!
Glad you liked it and it brought back great memories of the great Midwest ... Maybe now that you have that tree out and more sun, you could try some more? I'd be happy to give you a nice big clump if you happen to be in town sometime, lol. Though I wonder if Austin's summers are way too hot for it? But it sounds more like it had light issues with you?
We had a great weekend, all in all. We're both aching from all the weeding, but we're almost done with everything (but the never ending weeding). We have about 6 more perennials to get in, some more zinnia seeds and quick annuals like marigolds. Grilled a lot (fresh corn, pork tenderloin and burgers), had some fun with those fireworks! Have I mentioned how much I love my new S700? LOL
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