Red bee balm, Monarda didyma
 
Attract ruby-throated hummingbirds to your garden with bee balm's expressive scarlet red flowers. The flowers are stunning and up to 5 cm across. 
 
Ecology:
Bee balm attracts hummingbirds and butterflies, but especially bumble bees with its rich nectar. 
It supports pollen specialist bees who can only provide bee balm pollen to their larvae and different moth species as a host plant in the caterpillar stage of their life cycle. The seed heads create a beautiful winter landscape, and the birds devour the seeds.
 
A culinary delight:
The flowers are edible and make a great addition to your salads as a decoration. Bee balm flowers have some berry notes in addition to the fresh thyme and oregano flavour created by the essential oils thymol and carvacrol. These essential oils have many potent medicinal properties and are anti-inflammatory. Indigenous peoples have long used them to relieve symptoms of colds, headaches and bee stings. Bee balm is also known as Oswego tea, as the Indigenous Oswego people used the flowers and boiling water to make a beverage. One tablespoon of fresh flowers in one cup of water creates an infusion with the fragrance and taste of mint and citrus. 
 
Good to know:
Harvesting flowers and deadheading will create additional flowers and extend the bloom time. 
 
Deer and rabbits find the taste of bee balm too pungent.
 
Bee balm is in the mint family and can spread by rhizomes under ideal conditions.
 
Bee balm is prone to mildew at the end of the season, which does not affect the plant's health. To prevent excessive mildew, allow for good airflow by not crowding the plant.
 
Bee balm is an excellent rain garden plant and thrives near downspouts.