AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 



It is perfectly hardy, and grows well in a rocky 

 border in light soils. It blooms a little later than 

 P. subulata. 



Monarda didyma, Oswego Tea, Bee Balm, or 

 Fragrant Balm, is of the Mint family, and is a 

 most desirable acquisition. In a favorable loca- 

 tion it grows to a height of four feet, bearing 

 upon its stems bright red flowers, which remain 

 in bloom from July loth to September I2th. 

 I have tried raising it from seed, but with little 

 success. It is, however, so easily divided at the 

 roots that it is a waste of time to bother with the 

 seeds. One plant at the end of the first season 

 was divided into seven, and the following year 

 each of the seven was capable of almost as exten- 

 sive a division. To-day I have probably a thou- 

 sand of these plants, all in good condition, which 

 have come directly from the same parent stem. 

 They look by far the best in masses, and I find 

 that although they will live in partial shade, they 

 do best in full sunshine. One of the odd features 

 of this flower is its tendency to continue its stem 

 through the corolla, and at the height of an inch 

 or two producing a second blossom, and in some 

 cases even a third appears, making a flower three 

 stories high. A near relative is M. fistulosa, or 



152 



