I'd have to check some actual plants to say with absolute certainty but I think Monarda/bee balm is in the mint family. Feel the stems--if they're square instead of round, they're part of the mint family which includes many rampant spreaders. It's been my experience they're also nearly indestructible. Most can be easily grown from seed which would suit your goal of doing things on the cheap. Check out the winter sowing forum here on GardenWeb to learn how the method works to give you nearly 100% germination with seeds + a fun-filled winter season which will = a garden full of healthy plants in just a few short years. I filled nearly a dozen new flowerbeds with gorgeous perennial plants I grew via winter sowing from 2009-2011 and can now sit back and just enjoy/admire them. According to my perennial book, monarda blooms from mid- to late-summer & the bloom period is 8 weeks or more. Be aware, however, that monarda is highly susceptible to powdery mildew.

I planted Raspberry Wine for the first time in late spring. It has done very well and bloomed. I was just starting to enjoy it and half of it seemed to get knocked over by the sprinkler. Not positive that was the reason, but I noticed it after it had the sprinkler on the bed. Some of the stems were bent in half and would not come up again, so I cut back all those that bent over. Too bad it was just filling in the spot I wanted it for. But, I do like the flower color and size and the plant had healthy looking foliage. There is such a lot of summer and fall still to come, that I am expecting to see new growth at some point. Wednesday, rain is forecast and that is much needed for everything. I expect that next year will be even better.

Alyrics, I just planted Lobelia cardinalis last fall, and have a nice robust patch this year that just started blooming yesterday. You're right about the Hummingbirds - little Hummer has been checking out the Lobelia since it started budding. One of the patches of red Monarda isn't far away - and the Hummer goes to both. Such a brilliant red on both of these flowers. Scraplolly, I am growing things like Rudbeckia, Daylilies, and Panicum virgatum (Switchgrass) 'Shenandoah' around my Monarda. I kinda let it grow in a naturalized way, Monarda is not really a formal plant. They also grow well with other moisture-lovers like Asclepias incarnata and Joe Pye Weed. For mildew and fungus on Monarda, you are supposed to use a fungicide even before the mildew appears. I'm not that fussy about a little mildew which is only cosmetic - but I had a raging fungus on some susceptible plants this Spring (Monarda, Phlox, Asclepias, Veronicastrum, etc.) and the plants were yellowing and keeling over. So I've sprayed several times using an organic copper-based fungicide from Gardens Alive called "Soap Shield".

I love bee balm and I don't consider it invasive but it does spread, so it's good for filling in an area, or you can dig up the new plants and share them with other people. It has a wonderful fragrance! I'm growing it on the west side of the house and under a tall yaupon holly (that's trained like a small tree) so it gets a mixture of sun and shade. It survived last summer's horrible heat but the heat did shut down most of the blooming once it settled in. In a normal summer it blooms all summer. A few years ago I tried growing it at another house and it didn't do well, and I suspect it didn't get quite enough sun in that location. Suzie