Here's a bee balm for every garden.
 
     Spotted Bee Balm
     Great form:  Spotted Bee Balm is one of the most interesting plants in flower. Each flower head protrudes via a stem out of the center of the previous flower. The rays emerge whitish and turn pale-yellow to lavender in time.
     Attracts pollinators like crazy:  Native wasps, especially, and bees swarm this plant, and it attracts Hummingbirds, Monarchs and other butterflies, moths and other flying things. Songbirds also like Spotted Bee Balm but deer and other mammals tend to leave it alone.
     Has excellent mildew resistance: It's one of the few bee balms I've met that seems immune to the powdery coating on the leaves that hits others in its genus.
 
     It's also less aggressive than other members of the mint family, and it does a better job than most bee balms in tolerating drought and heat.  Maybe cut back late in the season as the plant looses its luster.
 
     Fun Fact: The leaves smell like oregano.
 
     Photo: Creative Commons