(Pink & White Wagner's Sage) Instead of pink, leaf-life bracts, this variety of Wagner's Sage has white bracts surrounding the hot pink flowers. It blooms from November to March on our coastal Northern California farm where it feeds Anna's hummingbirds all winter long.
(Windwalker® Royal Red Salvia) Salvia darcyi x S. microphylla 'PWIN03S' is one of the top 2015 plants for USDA Cold Hardiness Zone 5 selected by Colorado's Plant Select®, a nonprofit organization that focuses on promoting plants for low-water gardens.
(Jean's Jewel Sage) An entirely new color in the Salvia guaranitica group, this chance hybrid with violet-pink blossoms was discovered by Kathleen Navarez at Cabrillo College in Aptos, California. It is compact, freely flowering and spreads gently via rhizomes.
(Clary or Clear Eye Sage or Eyebright) Pink-purple bracts and violet-purple flowers form a pastel cloud over the large, rumpled leaves of Clary Sage in summer. It is a towering beauty growing up to 5 feet tall. Sacred to some due to age-old use in herbal remedies, it is heavenly to look at.
Sacred Sages |
1. Sacred Sage: Giant Bolivian Sage |
Of all the mint family's more than 6,500 species worldwide, Giant Bolivian Sage (Salvia dombeyi) has the longest blossoms and tallest growth. Each tubular crimson flower grows up to 5 inches long and has a burgundy calyx at its base.The plant's bright green, heart-shaped leaves are equally long. In South America, the flowers are pollinated by hummingbirds with extremely long beaks. However, Giant Bolivian Sage don't need pollination to flower beautifully for many seasons if growing conditions are right. |
Cultivating Color |
2. Pantone Pageant: A Chorus Line of Grayed Jade Designer Salvias |
Sage is the common name for the uncommonly beautiful Salvia genus. But when designers describe a product as being sage-colored, they mean a shade of gray-green that they say is soothing and that harmonizes with a multitude of colors, including soft pastels, hot oranges and deep purples. A version of sage called "Grayed Jade 14-6011" is one of the Pantone color-matching system's top shades for the design industry this year. This post identifies some Grayed Jade plants in the Flowers by the Sea collection. They are fine peacemakers amid a Salvia garden based on a mixture of Pantone's top greens for 2013, which you can read about in previous articles from our Pantone Pageant series of designer colors in the landscape. |
3. Happy Hybrid Surprises from Salvia greggii and microphylla |
Sometimes surprises occur in the garden, especially if you plant Salvias. Sages in the Salvia greggii and Salvia microphylla Group are particularly inclined to hybridize naturally. |
Sage Experts |
4. Sage Experts: Meet Huntington Gardens Curator Kathy Musial |
The Sage Experts series focuses on Salvia specialists — both amateurs and professionals -- in settings ranging from botanic gardens to universities. Kathy Musial, curator of live collections at Southern California's Huntington Gardens, is the subject of this profile. If you imagine a great dinner party involving lots of garden talk, Kathy Musial would be an ideal guest who could share her experiences plant trekking in Australia and Chile or co-managing some 14,000 varieties of plants at Huntington. |
Sacred Sages |
5. Sacred Sage: The Tongva Tribe & Coastal Sages |
Less than 250 years ago, Black Sage and White Sage also helped feed and heal the Tongvas and other Southern California native peoples. Here is their story. |
Book Reviews |
6. Book Reviews: Three Top Reads for Dry Gardening |
Don’t think “drab” when you hear the phrase “dry garden.” With guidance from good books and a willingness to experiment, you can create colorful flowerbeds and landscapes that require little to no supplemental watering. Here is a quick overview of three books that are excellent resources about sustainable dry gardening. |
Salvias Down South |
7. Salvias Down South: 15 Thirsty Salvias for Florida |
Flowers by the Sea grows Salvias that are already popular in the Southeast as well as others we would like to introduce to gardeners seeking thirsty flowering plants that can also adjust to dry spells. Many are fine choices for Florida hummingbird gardens. Our suggestions are organized into categories based on moisture tolerance – average and ample -- as well as sun requirements. |
8. Salvia Summit II: An International Gathering of Sage Thought, March 7 to 10 |
Salvias thrive in many different climates and parts of the world. Consequently, those who love the genus are an international tribe stretching from Alaska to Argentina and from South Africa to Southern California. Members of the tribe, from Salvia experts to home gardeners, will gather March 7 to 9 at Huntington Botanical Gardens in San Marino, California, for Salvia Summit II. Speakers will include academics, horticulturists, researchers and a forensic scientist specializing in Salvia chemistry. This event follows up on Salvia Summit I, which was held in 2008 on California's Central Coast at Cabrillo College. |
Sage Words About Wildlife |
9. Sage Words about Wildlife: 4 Seasons of Hummingbird Salvias |
Regional differences in seasonal temperature and humidity affect the choice of Salvias to plant in hummingbird gardens. The varying seasons in which particular sages bloom and the part of the world where they originated also determine whether they attract hummingbirds. Flowers by the Sea Online Nursery offers suggestions based on regions and seasons. |
Sage Experts |
10. Sage Experts: How Robin Middleton's Gardens Bloomed |
Sage Experts focuses on Salvia specialists -- both amateurs and professionals -- in settings ranging from home gardens to university laboratories. This article concerns Robin Middleton of Surrey, England, and his popular Robins Salvias website. The longtime horticulturist grows more than 100 Salvia species and cultivars in his garden and greenhouses. |
Cultivating Color |
11. Bedding Plant Royalty: Splendid Salvia Splendens |
If the world were to coronate a Salvia as its favorite annual, there's little doubt that a deep red variety of Scarlet Sage ( Salvia splendens ) would bear the sceptre. It's a long blooming, global favorite sometimes called Bedding Sage or Red Sage. When it was first introduced to horticulture in 1822, it was known as Lee's Scarlet Sage. Flowers by the Sea Online Nursery explains the growth habits and history of Scarlet Sage and suggests numerous favorite cultivars to add grandeur to your garden. |
Quick Digs |
12. Quick Digs: Treating Salvias as Bedding Plants |
As autumn days become shorter, so does time for protecting all your tender perennial sages (Salvia spp.) that nature designed for warmer winter conditions. This is the fifth and final article in our Quick Digs series on preparation for winter in the Salvia garden. This post acknowledges that sometimes it's better to replant favorites as annuals in spring. |
Common terms in this search: sand air desert which part sonoran short long blooming shrub thrives full sun dry heat edge areas moderate winter temperatures due nectar its tubular honeybees hummingbirds love however colorado western sage violet-blue upward curling finely scalloped narrow lime-green leaves eremostachya cute capital whorls pale flowers along supported fuzzy burgundy calyxes equally appealing fragrant drought-resistant native southern california baja grows deer