Advanced Search
(Blue Turkish Sage) Large velvety gray-green to white leaves in loose rosettes give this sage a distinctive look as does the celestial violet-blue of its flowers. The blossoms seem much too large for this short sage and its thin, candelabra-branched flower spikes.
(Nodding Sage) "Dancing in the air" is how garden writer Joseph Tychonievich describes the tall, graceful flower spikes of Nodding Sage, which can tower up to 5 feet tall over the plant's 18-inch-tall foliage during the summer flowering season.
(Red Veined Sage) In 1827, John Wilkes referred to Salvia haematodes as "Bloody Sage" in his Encyclopaedia Londinensis, Volume 22. This might seem mysterious when first viewing the sage's upright yet somewhat relaxed spikes of whorled, violet-colored flowers.
(Dark Flowered Bolivian Sage) Here is a water-loving beauty with dusky blue flowers --a native of the moist Yungas piedmont forests of Northwestern Argentina and Bolivia. Salvia atrocyanea is well adapted to both full sun and partial shade.
(Puna Sage) The deep violet-blue flowered Salvia calolophos has white beelines and oblong, mid-green leaves. It is a high-altitude native of northern Argentina.
(Hummingbird Falls Anise-Scented Sage) Salvia BODACIOUS® ‘Hummingbird Falls’ is the world’s first hanging basket sage and a plant that hummingbirds battle over. It’s a natural alternative to plastic and glass nectar feeders that require frequent cleaning and refilling.
Results for tips from the blog
| 1. Fall Planting: Tips for Salvia Success |
| For people and for plants, cool fall weather is comfortable for working in the garden. As gardeners dig, amend soil, weed and water, newly planted perennials focus their efforts on growing strong root systems before the chill of winter. Most perennial sages ( Salvia spp.) thrive if planted in fall. As temperatures decline, the soil remains warm. These conditions cause plants to decrease their growth above ground and focus on root expansion. Here are some tips about why and how you can succeed in the Salvia garden by planting during autumn. |
| Ask Mr. Sage |
| 2. Ask Mr. Sage: First-Aid for Salvia Frost Damage |
| Harsh winter weather in areas that normally have mild conditions can bring unwelcome surprises, including the death of favorite plants. This article talks about how and when to remediate frost damage to favorite Salvias in warmer USDA Cold Hardiness Zones. It concludes with a sidebar about a harmful cold snap in California's Bay Area that killed plants as well as birds in 1972 and which changed planting choices at the University of California Botanical Garden at Berkeley. Ask Mr. Sage is a regular feature that is based on topics raised in calls and emails we receive at Flowers by the Sea. |
| Celebrity Salvias |
| 3. Celebrity Salvias: Fuzzy, Fancy Salvia Oxyphora |
| A bright, cherry-licorice red, the large, fuzzy blossoms of Salvia oxyphora would make anyone stop and pay attention. Commonly known as Fuzzy Bolivian Sage or Bolivian Spearhead Sage, S. oxyphora has equally unusual foliage that fools the eye. At a distance, the plant’s lance-shaped leaves appear to be a smooth, glassy green. However, they are covered with tiny clear-to-white hairs. They’re also large -- growing up to 5 inches long and 2 inches wide at maturity -- and taper to long, sharp points. It was first collected near Cochabamba, Bolivia, by German botanist Otto Kunst in 1892 |
| Book Reviews |
| 4. Book Review: Stop. . .and Smell the Mints |
| Randy Collins was surprised when he got hooked on horticulture following retirement. But after a move to South Carolina, he was even more surprised at how deer destroyed his gardens until he began growing lots of mint family ( Lamiaceae ) plants like Salvias. It inspired him to write Stop...and Smell the Mints . |
| 5. 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. |
| 6. September in the Salvia Garden |
| Depending on where you live, September may be a time to keep busy planting perennial Salvias or to hunker-down and plan garden recovery following storm damage. Here are some tips from FBTS maintaining and beautifying your Salvia garden this month. New plantings and transplanting of sages in autumn works well; dividing or pruning them doesn't. |
| Portraits in Gardening |
| 7. 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. |
| Hummingbirds in the Garden |
| 8. Guide to Fuchsia Cultivation & History |
| Like tiny dancers dressed in fancy skirts, Fuchsia flowers dangle from upright shrubs in long blooming hedges and from trailing branches in hanging baskets. Fuchsias are hummingbird favorites that come in many rosy colors. Read about them in the FBTS Guide to Fuchsia Cultivation & History . |
| Ask Mr. Sage |
| 9. Ask Mr. Sage: How to Select Plants for Garden Triumph |
| Planning for Salvia garden success requires following the rule of selecting the right plant for the right place. Desert sages aren't appropriate for the damp Southeast. Moisture-loving ones aren't right for desert climates where they need lots of watering to survive. Flowers by the Sea Farm and Online Nursery offers tips for selecting plants based on local climate. Ask Mr. Sage is a regular feature of the FBTS Everything Salvias Blog. |
| 10. August in the Salvia Garden |
| August is a time when many sages grow rapidly and feed a frenzy of pollinators in need of rich nectar and pollen. It's hot, so you have to be careful not to let plants or yourself wilt. Here are some tips for tasks from watering to planning when tending your garden this month. |
| Hummingbirds in the Garden |
| 11. Bat-Faced Beauty: Gardeners & Hummingbirds Love Cuphea schumannii |
| Most bat faces only look beautiful to their mothers. However bat-faced Cuphea schumannii seems pretty as punch to hummingbirds in search of a sweet drink of nectar. If you take a close look at the ragged, open end of each flower, you'll see two, tiny, lavender petals standing straight up like bat or mouse ears. So, despite its common name, Orange Cigar Plant, this species is known as a bat-faced Cuphea. Aside from being excellent for attracting pollinators, Cupheas are becoming important agricultural crops that reduce pesticide use. |
| 12. Battles in the Salvia Garden: Controlling Spider Mites - Part II |
| Pollinators lose important food sources when Salvias and other nectar-rich flowers are destroyed by spider mites. This is Part 2 of a two-part series about understanding and overcoming these dangerous pests. Along with the non-chemical interventions described in Part 1 of this series, gardeners sometimes need the help of predatory insects and mites, insecticidal soaps and horticultural oils. Pesticides called miticides may also eventually be necessary, but should be the last resort. |
Common terms in this search: rusty sage named its leaves shaped like tips lances nearly care-free evergreen from south africa has enchanting rose flowers bloom fall spring native land into winter handsome little bush found sea level feet coastal areas cape good hope tidy compact look ability withstand drought heat make woody sub-shrub must-have any garden full sun also needs well-drained soil low organic matter