New Visitors to the Garden: More of the Story

Relationships enrich and inform my learning about nature.

Take Sandy B's beautiful photo of the Tiger Swallowtail butterfly feeding on our Crimson Bee Balm (Monarda didyma, aka Bergamot) in the garden, for example. Only last year I was surprised to learn that this beautiful red Bee Balm doesn't grow wild in Middle Tennessee. It's a northern and mountain species that must have been gifted to our garden, by whom, I don't know. But it is a prized perennial native plant, and the hummingbirds love it. We thank the donor!

Nice to see the butterfly too - the Eastern Swallowtail is one of the few butterflies that have a long enough tongue to enjoy the nectar of the Crimson Bee Balm's tube-like flowers. Who knew everything is so specialized?

Going back in time, the plant's leaves were used as a substitute for imported tea during the Revolutionary War. And let's also thank Señor Nicholas Monardes (1493-1588) a Spanish doctor and botanist, who wrote the first book on American medicinal plants.

There are seven Monarda species in Tennessee, and we have such a lovely one in our garden. Come visit it, relax, enjoy.

Photo by Jane W., Crimson Bee Balm at the Cedars of Lebanon State Park Native Plant Garden