Wild bergamot, Monarda fistulosa
 
Wild bergamot's fragrant lavender-coloured flowers bloom between July and September and are a bee magnet! The plant is easy to grow and reaches 60 cm to 1.20 m.
 
A culinary treat:
Wild bergamot is in the mint family; its square stem gives it away. The leaves and flowers are edible and can be used fresh or dried. The leaves contain the essential oil thymol and taste similar to oregano and thyme, making them fantastic combined with tomatoes. Indigenous peoples have used the leaves to treat colds and headaches as teas, baths, and inhalations. The leaves are best harvested young, before the plant flowers.
 
Ecology:
Wild bergamot is buzzing with activity throughout the day because the plant replenishes its nectar by opening new flowers throughout the day. It is a favourite of bumble bees. Its pollen supports the monarda pollen specialist bee, who can only use bergamot pollen to provision her brood cells with bee bread made from monarda pollen, her saliva and nectar. Wild bergamot is also a larval host plant for moths in their caterpillar stage. Besides bees, its tubular flowers attract hummingbirds, the hummingbird clearwing moth, butterflies, and predatory soldier beetles, a beneficial insect that eats aphids, different larvae and eggs. The huge amounts of seeds feed songbirds in winter.