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(Prairie Sage) Native to a large part of the central United States, this perennial Salvia is a beloved wildflower, delighting us with large cerulean blue flowers. Hummingbirds and butterflies love it as well.
(Wand Sage) Whorls of deep violet blossoms are cupped by dark bracts on the flower spikes of this mid-height herbaceous sage from Turkey. Its foliage is thick, corrugated and fragrant. This plant is lovely and hardy, so it is surprising that it wasn’t introduced to commercial cultivation until 2007.
Results for human from the blog
Sage Experts |
1. 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) |
Bees in the Garden |
2. The Not-So-Secret Lives of Honeybees |
It's no secret that Honeybees are American immigrants. Yet along with native bees, they descended from meat-eating wasps. All bees make food and flowers possible through pollination. This is the first article in a four-part Bees in the Garden series in the Everything Salvias blog of Flowers by the Sea. The series focuses on identifying and understanding bees, becoming aware of threats to their survival and noting ways gardeners can protect these tiny wildlife. |
3. How to Defend Homes Against Wildfires & Firescape with Salvias |
Home improvement, including landscaping, involves lots of decisions. This is especially true when modifying your property to protect against wildfires. Flammability is usually the last thought on a gardener's mind when planning what to purchase. But if you live in wildfire country and are a Salvia lover, you may have noticed sages on lists of fire-resistant plants. Read more about wildfire preparedness at FBTS. |
Hummingbirds in the Garden |
4. Red Birds in a Tree: How a Rare Wildflower Became a Hummingbird Garden Star |
Red Birds in a Tree, known botanically as Scrophularia macrantha , is a rare, cold-hardy, Wild West perennial with cheery red flowers hummingbirds love. Southwest New Mexico botanist O.B. Metcalfe collected it in 1904. |
5. 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. |
Ask Mr. Sage |
6. 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. |
Celebrity Salvias |
7. Channel Island Sages |
Flowers by the Sea grows a number of native California sages, including threatened species such as the woody perennial shrubs Santa Rosa Island Sage ( Salvia brandegeei ) and Island Pitcher Sage ( Lepechinia fragrans ). Elusive is one adjective to attach to both plants, because they are rare in their native Channel Islands homelands off the coast of Southern California where they are endangered. |
Xeric Choices |
8. Drought Praise: Hot Pink and Purple Autumn Bloomers |
Late summer is a good time to plant at the coolest times of day. Settling in Autumn Sage ( Salvia greggii ) and Mountain Sage ( S. microphylla ) before Indian summer will give their roots a chance for strong growth so they can withstand winter's chill and leaf out again next spring. These drought-resistant species are closely related and hybridize freely when they meet. They also cross with other sages they encounter. FBTS details seven pink and purple varieties that bloom off and on spring to fall. |
Sacred Sages |
9. 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. |
New at FBTS |
10. Himalayan Sage Is the Salvia Collector's Holy Grail: Part 2 |
Plants don’t have voices but they have stories to tell, including tales of discovery. It’s easy to see why the early 18th century plant explorer Victor Jacquemont would have paused to collect the rare Salvia hians while traversing broad expanses of northwestern India. This second half of our article about the alluring species digs into its history. |
Hummingbirds in the Garden |
11. 6 Indispensable Hummingbird Flowers for Long, Easy Bloom |
Hummingbirds are like tiny combat jets dive bombing each other when staking claim to the nectar-rich flowers they need for survival. Fights over nectar habitat can reduce hummingbird gardens to single occupancy. FBTS Farm and Online Nursery details and tells stories about its top six hummingbird flowers. Plant lots of them to accommodate a village of hungry hummers. |
Sage Experts |
12. Sage Experts: Nancy L. Newfield's Hummingbird Journey |
Renowned hummingbird bander Nancy Newfield of southern Louisiana shares her journey from 1970s stay-at-home mom to citizen scientist and one of the nation's leading hummingbird researchers. This is the first article in a three-part series about Newfield's work and gardens, which abound with Salvias to feed hungry hummingbirds that overwinter in her suburban yard near New Orleans. It includes plant lists and the Louisiana Winter Hummingbird Project tally of banded hummingbirds from 1979 to 2015. |
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