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(Glow Peach Mountain Sage) Long blooming Salvia microphylla 'Heatwave Glow' produces prolific quantities of soft peach-to-apricot blossoms along with dense, mid-green foliage.
(River Sage) Native to partially shaded streamsides in Argentina and Bolivia, this is one of the few Salvia species that can tolerate wet soil. It makes a fine filler plant in a group of other partial shade growers, its wirey thin stems sending up floral displays here and there, much to the gardener's delight.
(Ember's Wish Sage) Bright coral-colored, tubular blossoms contrast handsomely with the deep maroon stems, rusty rose calyxes and mid-green foliage of Ember's Wish Sage.
(Blast Pink Mountain Sage) Long blooming Salvia microphylla 'Heatwave Blast' produces prolific quantities of large, dusky salmon-pink blossoms and dense, mid-green foliage.
(Sparkle Pink Mountain Sage) Long blooming Salvia microphylla 'Heatwave Sparkle' produces prolific quantities of deep mauve-pink blossoms with white throats and dense, mid-green foliage.
(Brilliance Pink Mountain Sage) Long blooming Salvia microphylla 'Heatwave Brilliance' produces prolific quantities of deep reddish-pink, or cerise, blossoms along with dense, mid-green foliage.
(Radiance Bright Pink Mountain Sage) Long blooming Salvia microphylla 'Heatwave Radiance' produces prolific quantities of hot pink blossoms along with dense, mid-green foliage.
(Hybrid River Sage) This beautiful new plant is a FBTS hybrid between to rare South American species. In growth and flower it is intermediate between the parents, and fast growing because of it's hybrid vigor.
Results for growers from the blog
New at FBTS |
1. New at FBTS: Ember's Wish & Love and Wishes Salvias |
Plants contribute to our lives in many ways -- as sources of beauty, building materials, clothing, food, fragrance, medicine and oxygen. Add hope and fulfillment to the list, because that is what three abundantly blooming Salvias from Australia add to the lives of seriously ill children. These plants form the Wish Collection -- Wendy's Wish Sage, Ember's Wish Sage, and Love and Wishes Sage. Flowers by the Sea is one of the first online nurseries in America to sell all three. Although we have grown and sold Wendy's Wish for a number of years, Ember's Wish and Love and Wishes are new at FBTS. |
Cultivating Color |
2. Cultivating Color: Tracking the Elusive History of Autumn & Mountain Sage Warm Pastel Hybrids -- Part I |
Whether planned or accidental, hybrids happen. This is especially true among the closely related Southwestern and Mexican species of Autumn Sage (Salvia greggii) and Mountain Sage (S. microphylla). They are native to different areas of the Southwest and Mexico, but cross freely when they meet. This story is the first installment in a two-part series initiating our Cultivating Color series. It involves the late Dr. Richard F. Dufresne, a Salvia specialist who helped us track the history of warm-colored S. x jamensis hybrids. |
3. A Community of Anise Scented Sages We Adore |
You might expect the foliage of a plant called Anise-Scented Sage (Salvia guaranitica) to smell robustly like licorice, which shares the same fragrance as anise. Some gardeners detect a hint of licorice after crushing a leaf, but many say the foliage merely smells sweet. These popular sages are native to Brazil where indigenous peoples used their leaves as a medicine. Flowers by the Sea grows many varieties in a wide range of sizes and flower colors |
Hummingbirds in the Garden |
4. A Gardeners Guide to Hummingbird Sage |
Among the hummers' favorites: Salvia spathacea, commonly known as Hummingbird Sage. As it name suggests, this California native produces the hummingbirds' flower of choice, blooming from late winter through summer -- and sometimes again in Fall -- with rose-pink to magenta blossoms. Available in six varieties, this robust perennial not only attracts hummers with its abundant nectar, it's easy to grow and enhances any landscape with its aromatic blooms and fragrant evergreen foliage. |
Ask Mr. Sage |
5. Ask Mr. Sage: How FBTS Chooses New Salvias |
Some Salvia collectors want to obtain a broad range of sages including all the new introductions on the market. But Flowers by the Sea can't and doesn't want to grow all the new cultivars available, partly because there is a growing abundance of Salvia introductions. Instead, FBTS focuses on selecting the most superior new plants even when introducing its own hybrids in its series of Rainbow Jame Sages. Ask Mr. Sage is a regular feature based on calls and emails received by FBTS. |
Cultivating Color |
6. 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. |
Book Reviews |
7. Book Review: Waterwise Plants for Sustainable Gardens |
"font-style: italic;"> Lauren Springer Ogden and Scott Ogden are garden designers and writers who split their time between Texas and Colorado, but their suggestions for low water, xeriscapic landscaping can benefit gardeners far from the American West, Southwest and Deep South. The authors agree with their Dutch contemporary, Piet Oudolf, that a naturalistic landscape design based on local climate -- including water limitations -- is the most sustainable choice. |
Celebrity Salvias |
8. Celebrity Salvias: Hot Heatwave Hybrids from Australia |
Waterwise landscapes don't have to be cactus gardens if you grow leafy, colorful drought-resistant Salvias, such as Australian Heatwave™ Mountain Sages, which are crosses of Salvia microphylla and S. greggii . Hybridizers Howard Bentley and Steve Eggleton of Plant Growers Australia used these tough American and Mexican native plants to create their series. One goal was to aid water conservation during their nation's hot, dry summers. |
Getting Started with Salvias |
9. Getting Started: Salvias for New England |
Some people think you only find sage and coyotes out West. But Canis latrans, the Eastern Coyote, slipped into New England in the 1930s, and who knows when all the sages arrived? The New England Wild Flower Society notes that Lyreleaf Sage ( Salvia lyrata ) is the region's only native sage. It's one among many Salvia species grown in the Botanic Garden of Smith College in Massachusetts, which has one of the largest collections of sage in the region. Flowers by the Sea Online Plant Nursery raises hundreds of sages, including many northeastern favorites. |
Sacred Sages |
10. A Guide to Growing and Respecting Sacred White Sage |
White Sage (Salvia apiana) is a sacred plant for Native Americans, especially tribes in its Southern California native lands. It's a challenging plant to grow. Flowers by the Sea Farm and Nursery talks about the history and religious use of Salvia apiana as well as providing a guide to growing it. |
Hummingbirds in the Garden |
11. How David Verity Cuphea Became a Famous Hummingbird Flower |
When massed in borders or standing out as a main attraction in a container planting, Cuphea x ‘David Verity’ is a visual feast for people as well as an actual feast for small wildlife. Rich in nectar, the plant’s dainty, cigar-shaped, orange-red flowers nestle amid a cloud of mid-green leaves shaped like tiny garden trowels. |
Sage Experts |
12. 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. |
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