Ode to Bee Balm
Jay Davis
August 31, 2022
In late summer 2018, in Piedmont Park, Atlanta Audubon revealed its first Chimney Swift Tower. Laura and I went to the dedication event. On the sidewalks next to the tower, chalk artists illustrated remarkable images of the natural world. But most significantly, I was magnetically attracted to a table where native wildflowers were being offered for free.
Despite not having a yard or garden, I guiltily took home two small plants: One Mountain Mint and one Bee Balm. I planted each separately in large pots on my back deck.
The Mountain Mint immediately exploded. However, It took a year and a half for the Bee Balm to bloom. When it did, I was in love. Bees, wasps and hummingbirds loved it. The blooms filled the pot to the brim. I really didn’t know what to expect, but this was better than I imagined.
In the summer of 2020 I met my daughter Katherine in Great Smoky Mountains National Park to resupply her as she took a few days off from her thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail. Before she arrived to our meeting place, I hiked in GSMNP for four days straight and only the sound of singing Hermit Thrushes gave me more pleasure than seeing huge stands of Bee Balm blooming. Again I was in love.
Crimson Bee Balm (Monarda didyma), Balsam Mountain Road, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, July 2020
So perhaps this gives a hint as to why I am so in love with this plant. It seems that I need to be in the mountains to see nice stands of it. Here are some images from a hike from Lake Winfield Scott to Blood Mountain that I took in July of this year. I was pleasantly surprised to find these:
Bee Balm, I love you.
Next, to figure out what this red beauty is, which I found next to the river near my house a few days ago:
Columns Drive unit of CRNRA 08.24.2022
(Update: Charlie helped me figure out that this is Cardinal Flower.)