I planted a few Scarlet Beebalm (Monarda didyma) plants in front of our house a couple of years ago. They have now spread, and we’ve been enjoying the abundant bright-red blooms since early June.
I think they have lasted longer than usual, primarily due to our recent rains and cool temperatures.
Now the Beebalm is beginning to fade, and yellow Star Tickseed (Coreopsis pubescens) has begun to bloom. Both the Coreopsis and the lavender Phlox (Phlox amplifolia) usually bloom for much of the summer.
I consider flower gardens a lot like Forrest Gump’s box of chocolates. You put in some plants, but you can never be sure what you’ll get. For those not familiar with the movie, here’s a clip.
No matter what you get with flowers, they will change. As long as I get some bright colors that attract a variety of visitors (butterflies, bees, etc.), I’m a happy camper.
Wishing everyone a good summer!
Hi Betty,
Always happy to receive your e-mails. Our summer flowers have begun to bloom too and hopefully there will be butterflies this year.
Cheers,
Tom and Akemi
So far, I’m seeing more than I saw last year. Hope you the same for you.
Gorgeous colour combination Betty! I have a garden bed area that needs some rejuvenation, and your garden is very inspiring! Bonus, the bees & butterflies will be happy too :-). Thank you.
Marsha, I would like to take full credit but that bed gets a lot of sun and seems to have a mind of its own!
Betty, I love the way your garden bed ‘thinks’ so colourfully – it reminds me of our mutual friend Ann :-).
🙂
Wow, they are beautiful!
🙂
Beautiful flowers Betty, wonderful colours and i am sure the butterflies and bees love to visit them! Here at Tabor Park, we have a wildflower meadow, but not enough variety of flowers growing in it …. needs some of your beautiful Scarlet Beebalm plants in it! Love the short video with Tom Hanks too …..
Yes, the Scarlet Beebalm does attract bees and occasional butterflies, also hummingbirds. Glad you liked the Tom Hanks video. That’s thanks to our tech savvy son, Brian.