Monarda fistulosa

Monarda fistulosa, wild bergamot, is one of the great native perennials of the North American prairie, a hardy, aromatic member of the mint family loved for showy heads of lavender-pink and for a fragrance like oregano crossed with mint. The species grows wild in meadows, prairies, and open woods across most of the continent, and brings both vivid summer color and a deep well of history to the garden.

From midsummer into early fall the square stems are topped with tiered, bracted heads of tubular flowers, ragged and shaggy and unmistakable, that hum with life. Few native plants pull in more pollinators: long-tongued bees, butterflies, hummingbird moths, and the ruby-throated hummingbird all work the nectar-rich tubes, and specialist bees rely on the genus. The clean, silvery-lavender color reads beautifully in a meadow planting or a sunny border.

Wild bergamot carries one of the richest ethnobotanical records of any American wildflower. Many tribes, among them the Blackfoot, valued the leaves as a strong antiseptic, brewing them into teas for colds, fevers, headaches, and stomach upset, and applying poultices to skin infections and wounds. The compound behind that reputation is thymol, the very antiseptic that flavors and disinfects modern mouthwash, and the fragrant leaves, tasting of oregano and mint, have long seasoned food and steeped into a pleasant herbal tea besides.

In the garden wild bergamot is easy and generous. Give the plant full sun to part shade and average, well-drained soil, and it forms a spreading clump two to five feet tall that returns reliably each year and seeds about gently. This prairie species shrugs off heat and drought and resists powdery mildew far better than the red bee balms, and deer leave the aromatic foliage alone. Plant it in a pollinator border, a meadow, or a herb garden, and cut a few stems for the vase and the teapot. Photos courtesy of Terry Glase.