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(Variegated Scarlet Sage) Crimson flowers topping bright yellow foliage mottled with deep green make this one of the most spectacular Salvias we grow.
(Double Saw Tooth Sage) Vivid deep violet flowers bloom from summer into fall and contrast prettily with the bright green, rumply foliage of this tall sage from southeastern Mexico. Belgian botanist and orchid lover Jean Jules Linden was the first to record its discovery in 1838, according to records on file at Britain’s Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
(Wild Meadow Sage) Meadow sages are native to Europe and include many hybrids. This lush, purple-flowered plant is a wild species that most likely is a hybrid of two ancient sages -- Salvia nemorosa and Salvia pratensis.
(Purple & Bloom Sage) Floriferous, dark-stemmed spikes of deep violet-purple blossoms surrounded by charcoal-purple bracts combined with dark green leaves shaped like elongated hearts make Salvia ‘Purple & Bloom’ dramatic.
(Shangri-la Sage) Take a close look at Salvia moorcroftiana x indica ‘Shangri-la’ and you’ll notice that its lavender flowers have lighter lower lips with deep purple freckles.
(SALLYFUN™ Blue Lagoon Sage) You can expect early and long bloom from SALLYFUN™ ‘Blue Lagoon', a dwarf border sage with dense, aromatic foliage. Its spikes of deep violet-blue flowers attract bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds.
(White Flame Sage) Like bright white candle flames, the short vigorously upright flower spikes of petite Salvia x ‘White Flame’ light up flowerbeds.
Results for flowerbeds from the blog
Quick Digs |
1. Quick Digs: Inventorying Salvias and Tools for Spring Gardening |
This is the first article in our new Quick Digs series about preparing for spring in Salvia gardens. As spring approaches and daylight grows longer, first steps for preparing Salvia gardening include recording sages already planted before planning new purchases, repotting cuttings and seedlings, inventorying garden tools and turning the compost heap. When the first new growth arrives, you'll be prepared to remove weeds before they choke sages and other perennials that are re-emerging. |
Ask Mr. Sage |
2. Ask Mr. Sage: What Tropical Sage Should I Select? |
Selecting the right types of Tropical Sage ( Salvia coccinea ) can be confusing when viewing them in a catalog and seeing similar flower colors. Yet they may differ in cultivation needs, foliage, heat tolerance, and size. Mr. Sage offers ideas for comparing differences and similarities. Ask Mr. Sage is a regular feature of the FBTS Everything Salvias Blog , which responds to questions from customers. |
Sage Experts |
3. 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. |
Portraits in Gardening |
4. Portraits in Gardening: Michael and Kathi Rock's Hummingbird Journey |
A wedding gift led to Kathi Johnson Rock and Michael Rock's passion for hummingbirds. These Wisconsin birders offer tips and plant suggestions for hummingbird gardeners at FBTS. Although now known as Madison's "Hummingbird People," the Rocks aren't ornithologists or biologists. They are home gardeners and customers of Flowers by the Sea. This article includes a list of favorite hummingbird plants found in the Rocks' gardens. |
Ask Mr. Sage |
5. Ask Mr. Sage: What Salvias Grow Well in Containers? |
What kinds of Salvias are good choices for potting? Ask Mr. Sage, a regular feature of our Everything Salvias Blog, says the answer is many. In this post, Mr. Sage suggests some surprising combinations for potting and explains how to navigate the Flowers by the Sea Online Nursery catalog to find Salvias and companion plants appropriate for container gardening. |
Bees in the Garden |
6. Types of Bees Working in Your Garden |
America buzzes with bee diversity, including 4,000 native species and many types of nonnative honeybees. Flowers by the Sea details the variety and value of our imperiled bees. This is the second article in a two-part series focused on identifying and understanding bees, becoming aware of threats to their survival and noting ways gardeners can protect these tiny wildlife. It includes tips on how to avoid bee stings. |
Book Reviews |
7. 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 |
8. Salvias Down South: 15 Sages to Pink Up Landscapes |
Winter is a good time for warm thoughts about rosy colors pinking up the landscape. Not only is pink pleasant, but it is soothing. As psychologists discovered in the late 20th century, it's also the color of calm and is used in serenity gardens. Flowers by the Sea details a variety of pink sages here, some of which bloom in winter. |
Sage Words About Wildlife |
9. Sage Words About Wildlife: Hummingbirds Love Lobelias |
Top-10 lists of hummingbird favorites almost always contain Salvia and Lobelia, because each genus is nectar rich and offers many species in bright reds, oranges and pinks. Hummingbirds have a weak sense of smell, but bright colors, such as those of Lobelias, lure them to flowerbeds. They are particularly devoted to the types grown at Flowers by the Sea. |
Sage Experts |
10. Sage Experts: Nancy Newfield, Hummingbird Gardener, Part III |
It is ironic that one of the least social types of birds inspires so much sociability in human beings. We refer to hummingbirds, which are the object of festivals and the communal effort of bird banding research nationwide. This is the third and final article in a series about renowned hummingbird expert Nancy L. Newfield, who grows many Salvias in her hummingbird gardens. We recount a visit to Louisiana to observe Newfield and her team banding hummingbirds in winter. You'll also find a rainbow of top hummingbird Salvias listed here. (Photo credit: John Owens) |
Quick Digs |
11. Quick Digs: Spring Weeds in Salvia Gardens |
Weeding is the topic of this fourth article in our Quick Digs series about preparing for spring in Salvia gardens. Getting ready for the emergence of previously planted perennials in spring and for planting new sages (Salvia spp.) requires weeding before amending soil and planting. Then, growing vigorously spreading sages and ones rich in aromatic plant chemicals called terpines can help control weeds. |
12. Quick Digs: Planning a Salvia Garden Calendar |
This is our second article in a Quick Digs series about preparing for spring in Salvia (sage) gardens. It's easier to succeed at almost anything if you make plans and set goals before beginning a project. This is certainly true in Salvia gardening. Creating a gardening calendar ensures greater success in planning. |
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