this post was submitted on 29 Aug 2023
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Nature and Gardening
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Oh wow, is that Monarda punctata? It's beautiful! We have M. fistulosa and M. didyma and they're wonderful as pollinator attractors, but we use the flowers in teas and the leaves as a replacement for oregano.
It is!! Good eye! I've heard you can make tea with it, but was too nervous to try lol. We planted it along with some other native pollinators to help the ecosystem. (Even if it's insignificant)
Different resources advocate for just leaves, or just flowers, or some combination of the two. Personally, the flavor is a little too oregano for my tastes BUT if you harvest the flower tubules it's slightly sweeter. If you were to take those, put them in a loosely closed mason jar for 24 hours, and then dry them after that short fermentation period you can mix them with dried raspberry leaves for a faux earl grey blend (if that's your jam).
Keep up the great work! Even one plant can support dozens of species and thousands of individuals interacting around it, and 'no single raindrop believes it caused the flood'.
That's really inspirational, thank you!!