One of the herbs that I planted last year that I thought hadn’t come back is the bee balm, Monarda Didyma – from the tag, it’s called, “Raspberry Wine.”
Bee balm has amazingly fragrant leaves. I didn’t harvest much last year because I wanted the plant to get established. But it’s used in tea. Colonialists used it when they couldn’t get bergamot oil to add to their tea to make Earl Gray.
Yesterday, Blaze and I went on a small adventure, and went to a nursery neither of us had been too before. EG&B Nursery, in Enumclaw. It’s what I would call an industrial nursery. This is where your contractor goes to get trees, shrubs, and flowers for an entire subdivision.
Lots of pretty plants. Lots of trees. Asked about herbs, and was directed to the long house, one of several very large hot houses.
Was excited to find a large pot full of bee balm! Just has the tag Monarda in it, so I don’t what the exact species is. We’ll see what the flowers look like when it blooms.
Got back home, was looking at the location where the old bee balm sat. There are two dried stems sticking up out of the ground in the location.
Imagine my surprise when I cleared out some of the debris around the base of the sticks and found three long tendrils of bee balm growing! I had thought they hadn’t come back because I kept looking for something sticking up. Instead, I have six inch creepers.
I figure at some point they’ll get vertical.
In the meanwhile, lots of bee balm! In the large pot I bought yesterday I have at least thirteen longish stems coming out of the pot, and who knows how many smaller ones. I’m going to plant some of the longer stems close to where the other is growing, then take some of the stems and put them into pots close to the tiny house. I can’t put them into the flower garden – I get too much sunlight there. They’ll just die there. And I’m not sure where else to put it.
ION – just discovered this morning that the second hyssop has come back. So both of those survived the winter. I believe that means that the only plant that hasn’t returned is the borage. It wasn’t doing that well where I’d planted it – too much hot sunlight.
The fancy French sorrel has come back. I’m planning on keeping all of the sorrel better trimmed this year, use more of the leaves for salad, etc. Supposedly, sorrel is a deer resistant plant. However, the deer around here developed a taste for it. Just the common sorrel – they didn’t like the French sorrel. Another reason to keep it trimmed, so the larger leaves don’t attract the deer.
Just remembered – one other plant didn’t make it – the lemon verbena. This is the second time I’ve tried planting it and it has just died over the winter. Just looked it up – it’s not supposed to survive the winters here. So I won’t try growing it again. The lemon balm has come back and is quite bushy now. Unsurprisingly – it’s a type of mint. That will be what I’ll use for lemon flavor in things. (One of the foods I’m sensitive to is citrus. Too much will give me a headache. It’s actually a common migraine trigger!)
It’s spring here. The property is glorious. I’m enjoying spending so much time outside in the yard. We have bigger projects to start soon, probably when I get back from the mystery workshop in April. In the meanwhile, lots of yard and garden cleanup.
I hope that you’re enjoying your spring as well!