July Wildflower Wednesday

I missed posting for Gail's Wildflower Wednesday last month, so am glad to be getting July done, since I am not posting anything else these days.  I just chose one plant this time, what I know as short-toothed mountain mint.  I didn't find it at the Lady Bird Johnson site, but found it at the Missouri Botanical Garden page.  This article says you can make tea with it, as you can with other kinds of mountain mints, and when I did a search, I found other sites that say it, but I need to check with a friend of mine, and will edit this if he lets me know that he found out one should not with this kind.  (Edit:  Gene gave me this:  http://www.motherearthliving.com/Plant-Profile/herb-to-know-mountain-mint, which says not to make tea with this one due to the higher amount of pugelone, an insect repellent that is also in pennyroyal.)

Pychanthemum muticum draws lots of pollinators in.  People tell me what kinds of wasps and bees I share photos of, but I forget what they say.  I am pleased to be able to see them anyway.

This clump used to be in front of the egress window, where it was shaded by an Amsonia, and even though it looked good, it was about half the height and spread it now is.  I was glad to read that it is not aggressive, so if you dig it out, it won't keep going.  I am in the process, though, of giving different kinds of plants more room to spread so that the masses of plants are larger.  That was one of the suggestions when I became a local pollinator habitat.

I think it likes its new spot!  It can handle sun or part shade.

There are usually a number of these black wasps on the blooms.  There are also quite a few small bees of some kind that I have trouble catching with the camera.  There may be an insect of some kind on the upper left.

Isn't that a nice looking plant and bloom?  Blunt mountain mint is another name for it.  It can handle dry to moist conditions.  Do you have a spot for it if you don't already have it?

I hope all is well with my blogging friends.  I have not been keeping up with you, unless you are on Facebook.  Happy gardening!  I am watching our granddaughter who is now three four days a week.  Now that she is not napping some days, I don't get out to the yard as often as I'd like.  I also need to spend less time on Facebook.  Balance is hard to achieve sometimes!  Do you find that?