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(Argentina Skies Anise-Scented Sage) PLEASE NOTE: A superior variety, 'Elk Argentina Skies' is now available.
The licorice-like fragrance of its foliage and the big whorls of large, sky blue flowers make this a stand-out sage. Tall and wide, it forms a tidy, long blooming background, screen or border.
(Lilac Sage) We try not to brag too much, but this is our own variety of Salvia verticillata from home-grown seed, and we think it is spectacular. Butterflies and honeybees also are in love with this long-blooming perennial beauty.
(White Headed Sage) One of the most visually stunning members of the genus, this large growing, tender, winter blooming species from the mountains of Ecuador will turn every head with its furry white calyxes and brilliant magenta red flowers.
(Vermilion Tropical Sage) Tall and full of large, orange flowers, Salvia coccinea 'Vermilion' is a strain from the Louisiana gardens of hummingbird guru Nancy Newfield.
(Himalayan Sage or Kashmir Sage) The word "hians" in Salvia hians means "gaping" and refers to the hanging lip of this sage's flowers, which bloom from late spring through early fall. This may or may not the "true" species as it is described, hence the term aff or affnis in the name, which indicates that this plant is related to, has an affinity to, but is not identical to Salvia hians.
(Elk Raspberry Moose Sage) The deep raspberry flowers of this Salvia x Jamensis look good enough to eat, like spoonfuls of a silky, mouthwatering mousse dessert. Yet the 'moose' in its name isn't a misspelling. It refers to flowers that are larger than normal for a Jame Sage.
(Skyscraper Dark Purple Sage) Hummingbirds love Salvia x ‘Skyscraper Dark Purple’, which is brand new for 2019, blooms bountifully in shade, and is outstanding as a container plant.
Results for please from the blog
| Hummingbirds in the Garden |
| 1. Annual Salvias that Hummingbirds Adore |
| If a hummingbird could talk, he or she would tell you it's hard work packing for a long journey. Consuming mightily from dawn to dusk, day after day, hummingbirds double their weight before migration. They can't afford to run out of fuel before their next meal. To help hummingbirds, particularly on their northward journey, home gardeners can celebrate the arrival of spring by planting gardens filled with early blooming Salvias and companion plants that are excellent annuals in areas where winters are too chilly for survival as perennials. |
| Cultivating Color |
| 2. Cultivating Color: Tracking the Elusive History of Autumn & Mountain Sage Warm Pastel Hybrids -- Part II |
| Luminous Salvia x jamensis pastel flowers began warming up nursery catalogs in the late 1990s. Their journey from steep Mexican mountains to American and European gardens began in the mid-19th century with the discovery of Autumn Sage (Salvia greggii). This is the second post in a two-part article about these Jame Sage hybrids of Autumn and Mountain Sage (S. microphylla). It includes descriptions of ten favorite Jame Sages. |
| Getting Started with Salvias |
| 3. Getting Started: Salvias for the Midwest |
| Severe winter chill and summer heat coupled with extreme humidity are challenges that gardeners face in the Midwest. Many Salvias are excellent choices as long-blooming annuals in the region while others -- ones that can withstand cold winters -- are reliable perennials. Flowers by the Sea Online Plant Nursery explains the confusing Midwest boundaries from Ohio west to Kansas and North Dakota south to Missouri. It talks about the range of USDA Plant Hardiness Zones in the region and the kinds of sages that grow best there. |
| 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. |
| Getting Started with Salvias |
| 5. Getting Started: Salvias for Zone 5 |
| To bloom yearly, Salvia perennials and shrubs in USDA Hardiness Zone 5 need to tolerate deep freeze winters with average low temperatures of -20 degrees F. The success of Zone 5 sages also depends on local growing conditions. Learn more at Flowers by the Sea, an online, mail-order Salvia nursery. |
| 6. Getting Started: Types of Salvias for Zone 7 |
| Winter temperatures can seem moderate, then dip to freezing in USDA Hardiness Zone 7, which covers a broad range of locations from Washington State to Washington, D.C. To succeed, Salvia perennials and shrubs need to tolerate temperature shifts and local growing conditions. Learn more at Flowers by the Sea, an online, mail-order Salvia nursery. |
| Ask Mr. Sage |
| 7. Ask Mr. Sage: How to Use the 'Email Me When Back in Stock' Button |
| Ask Mr. Sage is a question-and-answer feature based on topics raised in calls and emails that Flowers by the Sea receives. This post concerns the FBTS "Email Me When Back in Stock" button -- a feature on our plant description pages that allows customers to request notification as soon as out-of-stock plants become available again. |
| Bees in the Garden |
| 8. 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. |
| Hummingbirds in the Garden |
| 9. 5 Big Orange Bedding Plant Beauties for Hummingbirds |
| You'll hear a lot about red when planting annuals for wildlife gardens, because hummingbirds garden love red, tubular, nectar-rich flowers. But orange is another hummingbird favorite not to be neglected. Flowers by the Sea suggests five long blooming species for your landscape that begin shouting "Orange, orange, orange" in spring when hummingbirds are big-time hungry now, now, now as they head north for the nesting season. |
| Ask Mr. Sage |
| 10. Ask Mr. Sage: How Light and Growing Conditions Affect Flower Color |
| Ask Mr. Sage answers questions based on calls and emails that Flowers by the Sea receives. This one explains the many factors that can cause the color of a plant's flowers to vary from one location to another. The blossom color of Flowers by the Sea plants in your garden may not always exactly match the colors in our photographs. |
| Getting Started with Salvias |
| 11. Getting Started: Types of Salvias for Zone 6 |
| To bloom yearly, Salvia perennials and shrubs in USDA Hardiness Zone 6 need to tolerate chilly winters with average low temperatures of -10 degrees F. The success of Zone 6 sages also depends on local growing conditions. Learn more at Flowers by the Sea, an online, mail-order Salvia nursery. |
| 12. Plant Safari Salvia in the South African Fynbos -- Part 2 |
| Flowers by the Sea is a home away from home for a number of South African Salvias that enjoy our moderate, Mediterranean climate. None are endangered species, but all face the threat of land development in the Western Cape's Fynbos Biome -- unparalleled for its variety of medicinal and ornamental native plants found nowhere else in the world. Preservationists are working to balance changes in land use and to maintain biodiversity in the CFR. Brutal poaching of rhinoceroses is one of the toughest problems they face. |
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