The plant that many people call bee-balm is more frequently admired in the wild than in the garden. Its flowers, perched high atop four-foot stems, brighten the dappled shade of woodland borders with their pale lavender heads.

In good soil, bee-balm spreads rapidly, and fear of the plant taking over the garden is one reason some gardeners avoid planting it. Some gardeners also avoid planting bee-balm because it is so susceptible to powdery mildew.

This disease does little harm to the plants, but does not look good.

Actually, that wild "bee-balm" with the lavender flowers is more correctly called wild bergamot, which is a wild relative of the truly named and more frequently cultivated bee-balm. The real bee-balm, typically with scarlet flowers that are attractive to hummingbirds, also parades under some other common names, such as Oswego tea and horsemint. The former name came about because the herb was first described in Oswego, N.Y., and was used by colonists as a substitute for the heavily taxed British tea. A few garden varieties have been selected, ranging in color from white (Snow White and Snow Queen) to deep red (Mahogany).

If you want to impress people with your knowledge of perennial varieties, tell them that you particularly like the bee-balm varieties Cambridge Scarlet and Croftway Pink.