Monarda

Monarda, sometimes called 'bergamot' as the aroma of their leaves is rather like that of the bergamot citrus fruit used to give the flavour to Early Grey tea, and known by North Americans as Oswego tea, as it was used as a herb tea by early settlers, is not surprisingly a member of the mint family.

Along with phlox, they are one of those perennials that flowers in the gap that many gardens experience after mid-summer.  With whorls of flowers in reds, purples, lavenders, pinks and whites, they have a lot to recommend them.  Wild bees are attracted in droves to the 'one line of symmetry' + 'landing pad' model of flower that heavier solitary bees like, and honey bees tend to shy away from.  Their seed heads are upright and strong and can last into the early winter.

Sadly, they are not entirely straightforward.  They get mildew at the drop of a hat, which led the always witty German garden writer Karl Foerster to dub them 'dusty millers', and Dutch nurseryman (and occasional plant breeder) Piet Oudolf to develop a selection, which were, for a few years mildew-free – the fungus soon adapted though and 'Pisces' and 'Scorpion' and a few others named for signs of the zodiac are now just as prone as the rest.  Best to grow them in the middle of the border so we can't see the leaves.  They have annual rhizomes which can mean that if there's any problems they die out, although if conditions are good (nice loam, perhaps a bit on the light side) and they don't dry out, they are soundly perennial, constantly re-reproducing themselves.  Definitely worth a go.

Image: Monarda 'Prairienächt' (Prairie Night) with the inevitable bit of mildew.