New Heirloom Offerings for Your Garden

‘Panorama Mix’ Monarda

lso known as bee balm, this perennial color palette of blossoms will attract a variety of pollinators to your garden! Cut them for their enchanting bouquets and for their edible blossoms’ minty, citrusy flavors. These tasty flowers will jazz up your drinks and desserts while aiding in digestion and providing respiratory relief. Native American Blackfoot, Chippeqa, Crow, and Lakota flowers to access their high concentrations of antiseptic thymol. You can also infuse baths with minty blossoms to ease sore muscles and aching feet, and mix them into steam baths to clear the sinuses. Hardy in Zones 4 through 9, can be directly seeded after the last frost, and will germinate within two weeks. For best results, however, start seeds indoors 7 to 9 weeks before the last spring frost, after which they’ll be ready to transplant. When they bloom, you’ll be joining the chorus of birds, bees, and butterflies singing their praises.