Wild Bergamot

I almost missed the soft lavender flowers of Monarda fistulosa.  I happened to spot it early one morning this week on the way into the office.  The sense of smell is strongly linked to memories, and this plant conjures up vivid memories of a summer in my teen years spent marking trees at a timber sale near Englewood, South Dakota.  At the foot of the hill that we were logging was a meadow full of an array of flowers, and the strong fragrance of this plant was dominant in their combined aroma.

It's not plagued by powdery mildew to the same extent as its close relative, Oswego tea, Monarda didyma. But most of the cultivars available are Monarda didyma. I understand some are hybrids between the two species, but it seems like this species could be used to create some new cultivars.  White forms do exist.