We’re already behind with gardening. It’s time to get moving. Not easy when the sky is gray, pants are tight, and spring seems a ways away.

By Chris Cohan

We’re already behind with gardening. It’s time to get moving. Not easy when the sky is gray, pants are tight, and spring seems a ways away.

Memories are still fresh of last winter’s brutal weather that killed most hydrangea flower buds, left many Japanese red maples dead, and decimated tender perennials. Followed by the summer drought, constant watering, weakened plants and failed flowers. Only to be topped by increased insect and disease problems, along with voracious deer, that all wore down the heartiest horticulturist in 2014.

This year let’s face those challenges head on with the help of pest control kansas city. Fill the garden with more color, fragrance, butterflies, hummingbirds, and native bees; and reduce stress, garden care, and pest and deer problems.

How? Plant Monarda punctata, or spotted bee balm, of course. It has a truly magnificent floral display and multitude of uses. A member of the mint family, Lamiaceae, Monarda is very aromatic. Its leaves and flowers give off a spicy fragrance similar to fine oregano. Visually, it is doubly attractive because not only are its creamy-yellow tubular flowers pretty, but its lavender leaf bracts can often be even more exquisite and steal the spotlight.

This plant blooms from July through September and prefers dry, sandy, well-drained soil, full sun to part shade. Deadheading and summer watering extend your bloom time even longer. The plant grows 1 to 3 feet tall and is resistant to deer, drought, and powdery mildew.

Monarda punctata is a very versatile plant with many uses. First, its dazzling flowers and leaf bracts combined with its dense, erect habit make it an ornamental superstar. It works exceptionally well in a wildflower meadow or planting, fills a troubled spot, or provides color and contrast for a perennial border.

Spotted bee balm, also known as horsemint, is extremely popular amongst native butterflies, bees, and other insects. It can even serve as your very own IPM expert in the garden. It attracts natural predatory and parasitoid insects that prey upon common pests such as aphids, whiteflies, and mealybugs. This means spotted bee balm provides free natural pest control, minimizing your need for pesticides in the landscape.

The leaves provide benefits inside your home. Feeling hungry? Crushed leaves can be used as an excellent substitute for oregano on your pizza, salad, or other dish. When crushed, steeped in cold water and drank, the leaves can even be used to treat inflammation and fever.

Carvacrol and Thymol are chemicals in horsemint that prevent the breakdown of acetylcholine, the stuff that makes memory possible. One of the symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease is reduction in acetylcholine. Unlike a drug now used to prevent the breakdown of acetylcholine, they are not as rough on the liver. One could even make a shampoo out of horsemint and perhaps reap some of the benefits.

Horsemint has the highest level of Thymol of all the mints. It is used for medicinal purposes, primarily external ones. An infusion can be used for colic, and as a diaphoretic (induces perspiration) or diuretic (promotes urination). It is a rubefacient (increases blood flow), stimulant, and will help with depression.

Plant a bunch, let it spread, dead head occasionally, watch the butterflies, hummingbirds, and native bees enjoy themselves while knowing drought, deer, and pests are not your worry this year.
Those gray skies seem a little brighter now. Those tight pants, well, that’s another story.

Spotted bee balm is available in seed or bare root from Prairiemoon .com and sandmountainherbs.com.