Flowers by the Sea

Help & Settings
 You are here    Flowers by the Sea / Search Results for smudge

Sort by
Salvia apiana
Salvia apiana

(Sacred White Sage) Bees, hummingbirds and spiritual blessings are all connected to Salvia apiana, an elegant shrubby sage that is an important herb to indigenous Californians. It deserves a place in salvia gardens that can meet its demands. Stiff and almost fleshy, its leaves are tight rosettes of brilliant, silvery green that is almost white.

Salvia apiana var. compacta
Salvia apiana var. compacta

(Compact Sacred White Sage) Salvia apiana var. compacta is significantly shorter than the common species of Sacred White Sage and somewhat more cold tolerant. Its smaller leaves and compact form make it a tidier choice for home gardens with the right kind of growing conditions.

Sort by

Results for smudge from the blog

Sacred Sages
1. 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.
2. White Sage
Bees and hummingbirds love the perennial subshrub Sacred White Sage (Salvia apiana) with its soaring spikes of white-to-lavender flowers that visually cool the landscape along with its large rosettes of lance-shaped, greenish-white foliage. Sacred White Sage is far more than a pretty native plant of California. Historically, it provided food and medicine for a number of Native American tribes along the Pacific Coast. Today, bundles of Sacred White Sage leaves are still tied together to create torch-like wands called smudge sticks for fragrant purification ceremonies far beyond the Native American community.
3. Sacred Sage: Salvia mellifera -- the Easiest California Native
Long before the West Coast was colonized, California Indians used Black Sage ( Salvia mellifera Greene) for food and medicinal purposes. Today, it often is bundled in smudge sticks used like incense during purification rituals. Another reason to consider Black Sage sacred is that, among the state’s native plants, it is one of the most important sources of nectar for pollinators. Nineteenth century botanist and clergyman Edward Lee Greene made the plant’s botanical name official in 1892 when he was the first person to publish it in a scientific journal. Among California's native Salvias, it is the easiest to grow in home gardens.
4. The Power of Scent
While it's true that not all Salvias smell, well, pleasant, many varieties are grown specifically for the aromatic or even sweet aromas that they release into the air. These ten Salvias are our top picks for the best-smelling varieties in the garden.
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.