I’ve been working on the Monarda page of my herbal notebook.

Names:  Monarda didyma, also known in various places as bee balm, bergamot, Oswego tea, scarlet bergamot, Indian plume, blue balm, high balm, low balm, mountain balm, mountain mint, horsemint and horsebalm.  In Europe bee balm has reportedly been called golden melissa and Indian nettle.  (Note that there are other herbs that bear some of these same common names, so don’t be confused.)  Though called horsemint in some sources, some sources link the name horsemint only to Monarda punctata (spotted horsemint).

The name Monarda is supposedly after the Spanish physician, Nicholas Monardes (1512-1588) who wrote the first herbal to appear in America:  Joyfull Newes Out of the Newe Founde Worlde, 1577. 

Parts Used:  Leaves, flowers.

Family:  Belongs to the mint family, Lamiaceae.

History:  When settlers arrived in North America, Native Americans had already been using bee balm for centuries as a medicinal and culinary herb.  Most sources report that it was the Oswego Indians of New York who introduced early settlers to bee balm as a refreshing drink, hence the name Oswego tea.  After the Boston Tea Pary, many rebellious American patriots replaced their boycotted tea with Oswego tea.   Other sources report that the plant was discovered growing in an area of New York named Otsego, the same rural county in which James Fenimore Cooper lived and wrote about Indians among other things.  Oswego tea supposedly also takes its name from the Oswego River near Lake Ontario.  In the late 1700s Shakers discovered bee balm’s value as a medicinal and culinary tea. 

Plant characteristics:  Perennial (though also referred to in some sources as biennial or annual).  Grows typically to 2-4 feet tall, but has been reported up to 6 feet tall.  The stem is quadrangular and hairy.  The leaves are opposite, ovate, and serrate, and are 3-6 inches long.  They are hairy underneath and feel somewhat rough.  Bee balm has shaggy, flaming-red flower heads.  The flowers are clustered in two or more tiers of whorls and sit atop a collar of beautiful, red-tinged bracts.  Bees and hummingbirds love bee balm (as if we couldn’t tell from the plant’s common name).  Bee balm flowers typically in July and August, though mine flowers here in North Carolina in June.

The leaves and flowers have a scent reminiscent of Bergamot orange whose oil is prized in perfumery.  Bee balm’s leaves are delicious in teas.  Leaves and flowers are good to cut up for salads, jellies, and fruit cups.  The flowers are pretty floating in a punch bowl.

Does not grow as well in hot climates.  Likes humus-rich, moist, slightly acid soil.  (2009 has been a beautiful year for my Monarda here in Piedmont North Carolina, because of all the rain and the mild temperatures this spring, I’m sure.)  Likes full sun to partial shade.  When cut nearly to the ground after spring blooming, bee balm may bloom again in early fall.  Prune nearly to the ground in fall.  In the wild, bee balm can be found in moist soil in thickets, woodlands, and stream banks.  Disease-wise, bee balm is prone to powdery mildew.

Propagation:  Can propagate from seed, but easiest to propagate from root cuttings or by separating plants in the spring. 

Distribution:  Bee balm is native to North America but was carried to Europe in the mid 1700s when seeds were being sent over by John Bartram of Philadelphia.  Bee balm is now widely cultivated across Europe.  In North America it can be found from Maine south to Georgia, and west to Michigan and Ontario.

Uses:  In modern times, bee balm is enjoyed mostly as a delicious tea; used as a carminative (infusion) to soothe nausea, vomiting and flatulence; infused as a tea for coughs and sore throat.   Treatment has been recommended as:  steep fresh or dried leaves or tops in boiling water.  Cool before drinking.  Drink 1-2 cups a day.   Some recommend drinking bee balm tea every day, it is so rich in antioxidants.

For my own personal use, I simply pick leaves from the plants in my own garden and put them in my infusions.  I don’t really grow enough bee balm to dry and store, though I’m thinking of growing more in the northwest portion of the yard.  I enjoy it fresh in season.  Bee balm can be tinctured.

Traditionally, bee balm has many reported uses depending upon source:  carminative, rubefacient, stimulant, diaphoretic; for nausea, vomiting, flatulence, menstrual cramps, sore eyes, sedative, sleep, colic, muscle spasms, diuretic, expectorant.

It has been used by many Native American Indians:  Oswego, Cherokee, Chippewa, Meskwaki, Sioux, Blackfeet, to name a few. 

Early settlers steamed the leaves and inhaled the fumes to clear sinuses.  A poultice of leaves has been made and applied for colds or for burns.  It has been used as a tea to treat measles,

Dried flowers and leaves are used in potpourri.

Scientifically:  The leaves and above-ground parts of bee balm contain thymol, a very powerful antibiotic/antifungal.  Thymol is used in commercially prepared mouthwashes.  Bee balm also contains carvacrol (may be useful in Alzheimer’s treatment) and other rich essential oils. 

Other Related Species:  Monarda austromontana, Monarda citriodora, Monarda fistulosa.

Disclaimer:  Information on the uses and properties of herbs is provided on this site for educational use only, and is not intended as medical advice. Please consult your healthcare practioner before self-treating with herbs. Make sure you have positively, 100% identified any herb before using.

At best, I feel this post is incomplete.  Plants are so rich in so many things vital to life.  They provide oxygen and are full of medicines and are good for food; I believe God put them here for us to enjoy and use with wisdom.  There’s so much more to know.

One of my favorites – Juliette de Bairacli Levy, died on May 28, 2009.  I just discovered this  morning.  Her DVD, Juliette of the Herbs is my favorite DVD.

I had a question from a reader (thanks, Diane!) about what book I would recommend for anyone just beginning to learn about using herbs. Over the years I have amassed quite a nice collection of books on herbs and herbal medicine. Some were purchased new, some used; some were gifts.

These books provide me with a wealth of information about growing and harvesting herbs, as well as making simple medicines and homemade gifts from herbs.  I refer to all of them frequently.  This large stack does not include my gardening, recipe and health books, in which some herbal information would be repeated. 

Hmmm, a book recommendation.  My favorite, favorite “beginner” book, hands-down, from my favorite herbalist (I would love to meet her in person) is Rosemary Gladstar’s Family Herbal: A Guide to Living Life with Energy, Health, and Vitality.  I have given a copy of this book as a gift before, I love it so much.   I can’t imagine anyone who loves herbs being disappointed by this book.

My garden salad yesterday.  I must admit that all the lettuce did not come from my garden.  There are pests creatures in my garden eating more of the lettuce than I am.  I am in the process of finding creative, organic ways to catch the culprits.  In the meantime, the bronze fennel, mustard greens, arugula, garlic chives and calendula did come from my garden. 

Harvesting during my short herbal apprenticeship, 2007

If you are really serious about learning about herbs, there may be herbalists local to you who offer plant walks, herb classes or even apprenticeships.  I was lucky enough to do a brief apprenticeship under an amazing local herbalist a couple of years ago.  I hope to go back to that at some point in the future.

Have a lovely Wednesay.  Marqueta, I’ll quit wishing everyone a Happy Winds-day.  Your state seems to take it to heart!

Lynn

Over the weekend I gardened.  To the point of exhaustion.  I was so tired I left all my seeds outside in the pretty McCoy planter I keep them in.  It rained. 

At least the seeds are presoaked, but they now must ALL be planted. 

I’ve been planting all morning.  Corn.  Okra.  Squash.  Ornamental flowers.  Basil.  Rosemary.  And the list goes on.  And I’m not done yet.

I was hoping to better plan how these seeds were placed, but rained-on seeds lead to hasty planting.  You know what was really fun?  The squash, okra, and corn packets were so wet that the paper tore and the seeds were all mixed together in the bottom of the container.  Guess what I did?  If you said, Lynn, did you plant them all together in one big bed??, right answer!!  We’ll just have to see how that bed turns out!

Calendula officinalis.  I want to save the petals from the calendulas I planted.  Calendula officinalis, or pot marigold, is not to be confused with the French marigold (Tagetes) which is not edible.

On the bright side, it feels so good today to be in touch with the plants. 

Last night I went to a local co-op grocery store and just took in the scents and sights.  I looked at many herbal products.  I restocked my medicine pantry with some things I was out of — eucalyptus oil, lavender essential oil, grapeseed oil (wonderful for massage), and pain heal salve and some wonderfully scented aromatherapy spray both made by Herb-Planet.  (Frances, it smells heavenly!)

Right now I am about to take a walk to gather honeysuckle to make a cold infusion.  I’ll also make a warm infusion with other herbs for sipping on this afternoon while we read Hamlet.  (We should finish up tomorrow!)  A big salad from the garden will be lunch.

The beginnings of potpourri.

Little Basil (our newest bunny) accompanied me into the garden today while I worked. I can hardly get enough of springtime birds, flowers and earth. Don’t you just love this time of year?

Lynn

Today is a work day for me, but I got up early this morning and went out for a quick shopping trip, stopping by the farmer’s market before coming home. 

I bought two German Johnson heirloom tomato plants and two cherry tomato plants.  I also got a little pot of marjoram and a little cardinal (or hummingbird) vine.

A tiny little spider sits on a dandelion stem.

A tiny little green bug lands on my jumper.

This wild grape has never produced, though every year it looks like it will.  This plant is a volunteer and I believe it’s a situation of either a female plant needing a male or vice versa.  I don’t know enough about grapes to know which situation it is, but we keep thinking we’ll figure it out, and in the meantime we let this pretty plant grow.

Pretty spider in a web that sparkles in the morning sun.

The lavender thinks about blooming.

My Van Houtte spirea is huge and covered in white blooms this year. 

I wander outside of the garden’s border to admire broadleaf plantain, Plantago major, one of my favorite herbs.  It’s a native of Europe and was called white man’s footprint by Native Americans because the white man seemed to leave it behind everywhere he’d been.  

It’s been used as a nice, antibacterial dressing for wounds in the field.  It has mucilaginous properties.  I like to use the leaves in my infusions to help with bronchitis, cough, or just any kind of sinus or nasal congestion.  The seeds have a laxative effects and it is a relative of the type of plantain that provides the psyllium in store-bought laxative preparations.   Just check out the ingredient label next time you buy something like Metamucil.   

Have a beautiful Saturday.  I’m off to type, cup of Bengal Spice tea in hand.  The pump in the goldfish pond is running so that I can look out my office window and see flowing water and a bit of the garden.

Lynn

Dandelion leaves, lemon balm, violets, nettles, red clover, and a touch of lavender.

A bit of boiling hot water, steep, and enjoy a cup on this cool day.   

It’s the first infusion of the year from fresh herbs from the yard. 

Lynn

It’s pretty here today!  A bit windy.  Sunny.  Fallish. 

It’s a good afternoon to cut some seed pods for drying for winter arrangements.  The garlic chives have really amazing blooms for this. 

Three bunches are hanging up to dry now.  I’m sure you’ll see them again later. 

But wait there’s more stuff outside!  I love the scarlet sage and it is getting so beautiful.  This fiery red really stands out in the garden.

Clara Curtis Mums.  Again.  Bear with me.  I love them.

I can see myself in a Scooby Doo van with these painted all over the sides.  Can you see me there?

This little spider almost landed on top of my head.  He flew out across the path on this strand of web and made his safe landing on the leaf just before I passed through.  I don’t know which of us is more relieved.

Yes, I’d say this rose is bright. 

And this rosebud is pretty. 

Since Oreo was all under my feet, I figured she wanted her picture taken but she wouldn’t look at the camera.  I had to pull her in really close and say, Oreo, look at the camera and you’ll get to be on my blog.

She might be thinking about my blog.  But she might not.   The latter would be more likely.  Don’t you think?

Lynn 

There’s a calm in my heart today.  I’m not going anywhere, intent (and content) on staying home and just being.  I am harvesting sage today.  

The sage stands bright and stately in the sunshine. 

There is an old saying, going all the way back to when Romans ruled the world:

“Why should a man die when he has sage in his garden?” 

I know I’d be sad come winter if I had not harvested my sage.

It is plenteous.  It is gentle and kind herb among herbs.  It’s good for women.  I put it in my infusions.  I use it in meat dishes.  Sometimes I just walk by and touch the leaves and get lost in the wonderful fragrance.

I don’t take all the sage in my harvesting, but leave some for the creatures who enjoy it as much as I do.  It is this bright green spider’s home.

Close by, there are other insects enjoying the garden.  I love them all, except for the mosquitoes.

There’s something very good about learning to dwell contently at home.  It’s sometimes a hard lesson for young mothers.  (It was for me.)  It’s sometimes a struggle when cooking wasn’t started early enough in the day and something quick must be purchased.  It’s sometimes a struggle when the heart is not settled and “getting away” seems more appealing than taking care of household chores. 

~It is of great advantage

to understand how

to turn common occurrences of everyday life

into treasured works of love. ~

• laundry on the line
• a clean kitchen
• harvesting herbs
• from a tiny patch of ground
• rocking a baby
• getting to know your children
• a home-cooked meal

Contentment.  Closing the garden gate with a basket full of sage.

The process begins of cutting the leaves off, checking them for bugs, and placing them on baking trays to go into a 140-degree oven to dry for a couple of hours or so, or until they crumble in my hands. 

Then the dried and hand-ground sage will go into spice jars for use throughout the next year. 

Lynn

I know better.  I mean, I really do.  I love studying plants and their uses and their dangers, and I am constantly aware of all of the above, but a strange set of circumstances set me up to get a pretty bad reaction from one of my favorite plants: rue, or Ruta graveolens.

This is a lesion close to my elbow.  Note the blisters.  I have whelps like this over both my upper arms.  I probaby have six large areas on my left arm and three or four long areas on the right. 

Rue is beautiful.  It’s the tall plant with yellow blooms.  I have a bunch of it in both my front and back yards.  It attracts all kinds of butterflies and bees and wasps.  I am well informed that it can cause “burns” on the skin of sensitive individuals.  But who knew a set of unusual circumstances would lead to all my blisters and skin damage?

• Husband trims the rue in the back so it’s not in the walkway and does not mention it because he frequently does things like this for me.
• I go out on Tuesday, geared up for the garden with hat, overalls, and boots to do some heavy work, but I am sleeveless.
• It’s dangerously hot (100 degrees) and sunny on Tuesday.
• I was moving a rain barrel up onto permanent blocks.  It was temporarily sitting on the ground beside the large freshly-cut rue and I moved it to its permanent location on the other side of the large freshly-cut rue. 
• Little did I know that as I walked back and forth by the rue, measuring and carrying the barrel, fresh sap was being brushed onto my arms and a potential dangerous photophytotoxic reaction was beginning to occur because I was exposing the sap on my arms to bright ultraviolet light from the sun.

So there you have it.  Many of our modern medicines come from plants.  There is youth and age and life and death all to be found in plants.  I’m not a chemist or a doctor, but let me share with you the names of some of the compounds found in rue:  furanocoumarins 5-methoxypsoralen and 8-methoxypsoralen and graveoline, a quinolone alkaloid.  These substances have been studied for cancer treatment.  Perhaps because they interfere with mitosis?

My only concern is permanent skin cell damage.  Let’s hope not.  Now, I’m wondering what to put on the lesions.  More research.  I’ve read that if the reaction is severe, topical steroids can be used, but I don’t think I need (or want) that.  My best bet is probably to take my vitamins, keep the areas clean and continue to be careful to stay out of the direct sun.

The lesson?  Don’t deviate from your rule to always wear sleeves in the garden.  I normally do, but it was SO hot. 

Happy Gardening, Still…

Lynn

nag.  verb  1) To annoy by continual scolding, faultfinding, complaining, urging, etc.  2) To keep troubling or worrying constantly.

You know, there’s nothing a husband hates to come home to more than a nagging wife.  I really think that’s true.  If a man works hard all day, puts all his pay into household and, especially if the wife stays home, supports the family, why should he have to listen to an evening of we never do anything or why can’t we be like them or there’s hardly money for anything or I’m sick of cooking every night…?

I must admit, I’ve been guilty of all the above and it got me nowhere.  Unless you’re planning to end your union, what good does it do to nag?

Also, men are so visual, I’ve never gotten poor results from putting on something at least presentable and “fun” — just for hubby. 

Want to talk to your husband, or have him talk to you?  I tell my husband to have a seat and let me see his feet and then I give him a foot massage.  He sometimes reciprocates, but I don’t mind massaging his feet because I am actually studying (on my own) to learn reflexology.  It benefits all of my family, and maybe someday even my friends.  Some day perhaps I can learn in a more professional setting. 

As my teacher, I use Reflexology: The Timeless Art of Self Healing, if you’re interested.

Anyway, husbands appreciate things like that and they may even chat a bit while sitting there.

I’m not ready to share any recipes yet, but last night I made myself an herbal broth to put over rice.  It was good, but not good enough.  Once I get it just right, I’ll share the recipe.  This had dandelion greens, dulse (a sea vegetable), garlic chives…

and some spring onions…

and some other things, and the rice I made had some rosemary in it.  I love my biggest, oldest rosemary plant, by the way.

I’ve been working on a bit of menu planning.  I think I should start putting my best meals on index cards with the ingredients required on the backs and then use them to grocery shop.  So much I want to do!!

I’m gearing up to share some doll house adventures, too.  I haven’t forgotten, really.

As Pooh says, Happy Winds-day.

Lynn