Boday, I am well aware that the plant supposedly has semi-double flowers. But I planted it back in 2008 and over time, that is what the plant has wound up looking like. There are some doubles but the plant has pretty much reverted over time. -------------- Ahh, then as the saying goes, "My bad." I've had it for a while as well and it's right out of the manual, which is why I disputed. I've got S/Sun, Tuscan Sun and Summer Nights and each is simply extraordinary. As to aphids, a garden hose hard spray, works wonders. I've given up on Rudbeckia Hirta, too short lived and every spring is an adventure. Are you is or are we waiting for seeds to sprout?

I like to plant late blooming hardy lilies with my monardas. Since I keep the monardas in a fairly dry spots to keep them from overspreading, this seems to work well. There are lots of orientals in the deep rose on white or pink color spectrum. My favorite lily for semi-shade is Black Beauty, not technically an oriental but blooms late and tolerates lots of shade. Sorry, but I don't know the names of the oriental lily varieties anymore. The second photo with the recurved petals is Black Beauty. The monarda in the third picture is Jacob Cline which blooms a week or two earlier for me than Raspberry Wine. Also the bloomtime on Black Beauty varies a bit in my yard, with the shadier locations being somewhat later than those in more sun. So you might have to do some experimenting to see what lily works lily best for blooming AFTER the monarda, or just pick something that would look great with the Raspberry Wine. Pictures were all taken in late July to mid-August. Also you could add any kind of pink/wine/burgandy mum or aster to the mix for later color.

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".

Gayle, I think lemon mint will be the monarda citriodora. It is the only plant I have ever seen sold under that name, although a lot of people call it horsemint.....not to be confused with horseherb, which is a great native groundcover! Wildflowers are always slow starters for me, and I have had the best luck with them by scattering purchased seed in the pasture at the very same time that Mother Nature and the wind are scattering the seed of the native plants of the same variety. Then, once I finally have a good stand of plants in the pasture, I dig up a few and move them to the more civilized areas of our landscape. The only exceptions to this have been Mexican hat (Ratibia columnaris), black-eyed susan (Rudbeckia hirta) and white-flowered swamp mallow (Hibiscus moscheutos). I started these from seed in my butterfly bed outside the kitchen window and they naturalized themselves elsewhere on the property. I have been cultivating a small patch of bluebonnets from seed for years. Every year it gets a little larger and sets more seed for the next year. I still don't have a huge field of bluebonnets, but maybe one of these years I will. Dawn