Wild Bergamot (Monarda fistulosa) doing what it does best.

Lavender crowns, square mint stems, and a full pollinator shift on duty.

Perennials stabilize.

#WildBergamot #Monarda #NativePlants #Pollinators #Flowers Monarda fistulosa https://www.cernunnosfoundation.com/nature-pictures/monarda-fistulosa-2/

Eastern Tiger Swallowtails at Bowman’s Hill Wildflower Preserve

A failed search for Monarchs led to something better.

https://islandinthenet.com/eastern-tiger-swallowtails-bowmans-hill/

The bees are all over our wild bergamot this summer - often 20 or 30 of them in the clumps at any given time. Our native flower garden has really brought us a lot of happiness.

#silentSunday #bees #bumblebees #wildBergamot #bloomScrolling #flowers #nativePlants #nativeFlowers #nativeFlora #nature
a silver-spotted skipper sits on wild bergamot in our back yard garden ...

#silverSpottedSkipper #butterfly #butterflies #wildBergamot #bloomScrolling #nature
Clear wing hummingbird moth (Hemaris thysbe) on wild bergamot (Monarda fistulosa) from a few years ago.

#hemaristhysbe #sphinxmoths #humminbirdmoth #wildbergamot
These are the days of bee balm. #Gardening #Zone5 #BeeBalm #WildBergamot #Monarda

Yesterday's photo was of a #NativePlant area that looks like I thought it would. Today's photo is of a bed that's doing its own thing.

To be fair, I knew #WildBergamot (aka #BeeBalm aka #monarda) would spread if happy. I just didn't expect the new plantings to be this happy. The how-it-started picture is only from early June. The bergamot are the three marked with blue. #gardening #NorthernIllinois