Evening star., 1948-10-01
This and That
By Charles E. Trace1DeH
"HYATTSVILLE, Md.

"A
Dear Sir:
"If anv one wants hummingbirds next sum-
mer. lust plant some red bergamot.
I'VE have many hummers, mostly two at a
time, Just as long as this plant is IN oioom
ut requires little care. spreads rapidly ana
If kept watered will bloom twice In season:
Because of the birds and the fragrance OF
the flower, I would not like to be without It,
1T makes lovely bright spot in any garden
Sincerely, w. E. r.
The plant bergamot is well worth remember
ing at any time of the year.
The beautiful flowers the sturdy growth
and the minty scent. beloved OF bees, num-
mingbirds and many humans make TINS
fine thing to have in yard.
It is a perennial, and as our correspondent
says, does we'll almost anywhere, kept
reasonably we'll watered.
Usually 1t is seen In two shades. the rich
red spoken Of and a magenta shade Inc
latter it seems. has become more common IN
this vicinity, but the deep red is probably the
prettier.
Do, the name come from Bergamo, the
Italian city where Donizetti. the composer,
was born?
There seems some doubt about II, altnougn
the resemblance is pretty pat.
There are two bergamots, 1t would seem.
The one is a South European small shrub or
tree. from which the bergamot oil used IN
perfumery comes. The other is the American
perennial, beloved by hummingbirds.
1t would seem natural enough to oelleVe tnat
the French added the "t' to "bergamo," since
probably most of the oil they used came from
there But there are two Turkish words, the
first one, typcally. being beg which come
out almost "bergamot," in popular speech. so
take your choice.
The plant, at any rate, is fine one much
beloved for many years in American gardens
especially in typical small towns, where elab-
crate gardening with costly species was not
undertaken Most of the garden space was
given over to vegetables, but flowers were
always loved by our grandmothers, and usually
they had some around the house
They had bleeding hearts, very popular
plant: they had bergamot and they had
flags" now called iris, and sword lilies now
commonly named gladioluses or gladloH, II
the manner is a sticker for the use Of Latin
forms.
Monarda didyma and M. fiistulosa are the
popular forms of bergamot in this country
It lives over the winter easily and f1ourishes
early.
The bush is always favorite meeting place
of neighborhood bees, which find IN us BLOSSOMS
something more than just scent.
There are few people who do not care
for the perfume but this always happens;
the bees and hummers and most people ioVe
it. finding it bit different from the usual
flower
Bergamot is a spreader, that is, 1T keeps on
growing, so that usually owners are giao
enough to give some of it away
1t may be planted either in the 1an OF
spring.
Two other spreading plants liked by pees
are the false dragonhead, with lavendar tu-
bular flowers and the hardy asters, with
daisylike blossoms of lavendar with yellow
centers.
Bees like nothing better than these TWO
plants, especially the hardy asters.
They will simmer by the hundreds over the
blossoms, their constant movement from one
flower to another giving the whole plant
live character, as If it were moving OF ltSeh.
1t is very interesting to watch
Both hardy asters and false dragonheaa are
spreaders. That is one OF their faults nut
surely it is an amiabe fault, and one which
enables a gardener to give away plants 10
friends. Unfortunately, friends often fail 10
value plants given them. 1t Is too bad, out
that is the way human nature is. If they palo
for them, they would value them more.
Try dressing up your garden with bergamot
false dragonhead and hardy asters, and make
1t meeting place for the bees and htmmins-
birds next summer.