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Sage 'n' Onion?

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They go together, don’t they. Do you make your own sage and onion stuffing, or do you buy a packet?

Ah, sorry, but this blog is only about Sage…and its latin name is Salvia. The one we use in cooking with the onion is Salvia officinalis and I have it growing in my garden.

I found out recently that Salvia has been used as a herb and household remedy since Roman times. It was also an ingredient in spells and charms!

Back in 2007, I wrote about the Salvias in my garden. At that time, I didn’t know how enormous the family of Salvias is – well over 900 are in cultivation! There are perennials, biennials and annual Salvias.

What I did know then was that I had inherited some beautiful long flowering plants which attracted insects and were a lovely deep purple.

Salvia nemorosa ‘Mainacht’

I also knew that they were Salvias, and found out the rest of their name. This was the beginning of another love affair with a family of plants. No, I don’t eat the leaves from them, but one of the things that all Salvias have in common is the wonderful scent of the foliage.

Salvia nemorosa ‘Schneehugel’

I disovered that in the S. nemorosa group there were white flowered forms, too.

Salvia nemorosa ‘Ostfriesland rosea’

And deep pink ones. Just a gorgeous colour!

Purple is still my favourite, though. I came across one called ‘Caradonna’ which has taller flower stalks and the stems are very dark. It makes a wonderful upright ‘accent plant’ in a flower bed.

S. nemorosa ‘Caradonna’

And then a little one – only about 3" tall. It’s called ‘Marcus’ and it tucks in the front of the border.

S. nemorosa ‘Marcus’

S. x superba ‘Merleau Rose’

This one, as you’ll see, is called ‘Merleau Rose’. It keeps on and on flowering – it still has some flowers now! The secret of keeping Salvias flowering is to deadhead them very carefully. Just cut the spent flower to the next set of leaves and the side shoots will flower – and so on, and on, from May until the autumn.

A rather different form of Salvia nemorosa – S. n. ‘Plumosa’.

Salvia greggii ‘Alba’

One day, I called in at a small Nursery on the way to Minehead. I knew they stocked Penstemons, and thought I’d see which ones they had. I didn’t come away with a Penstemon, though. I found a new type of Salvia – a shrubby one. It was a revelation! It’s hardy, it flowers for ages, and I’ve found a few more since that first one.

S. greggii ‘Raspberry Royale’

S. greggii ‘Rosea’

A very similar sub-shrub is called Salvia microphylla as you can see.

S. microphylla ‘Icing Sugar’

Such a pretty one, this.

S. x jamensis ‘Primrose Lights’

And here’s my cream one – I love this. I got it after I saw it at an Open Garden over two years ago – and planted it in my island bed, where it’s very happy.

S. coahuilensis

I almost forgot this beauty – the purple one with the unpronounceable name! And, yes, it’s hardy too.

Two more herbaceous plants with equally unpronounceable names

S. hierosolymitana

Such a beautiful plant – I found it at a Rare Plant Fair.

S. forskaohli

I love this one – it’s beautiful in the border and again, the flowers last for ages.

But there are other kinds of Salvias, too. Some are rather strange – I’m not at all sure about this, for example.

S. lyrata ‘Purple Volcano’

And have you ever seen a stranger shaped flower than this bright cerise one? It flowers in late summer into the autumn. I woudn’t call it pretty – perhaps ‘unusual’ is a better word!

S. involucrata ‘Bethelii’

I said earlier that all Salvia leaves have the same distinctive fragrance. Their stems are square, too. Another common factor in Salvias is the flower – although there are so many apparently different plants, if you look closely at an individual flower, you’ll notice the two lips that each one has, whether they’re tiny as in ‘Marcus’ or pretty obvious as in the next photo where each flower is large.

S. hians

I’ll just show you a couple of plants from yet another branch of the Salvia family – the S. pratense group.

S. pratense ‘Pink Delight’

These are tall mid-border plants, and they make quite an impact.

S. pratense ‘Blue Enigma’

But if I had to choose one Salvia out of all the plants I have in the garden – it would be Salvia vercillicata. Look at this for a mass of summer colour!

And my favourite cultivar of S. vercillicata? ‘Purple Rain’.

It’s a wonderful plant, although I admit that it does need some support to stop it flopping. Again, it needs careful deadheading, and it will then flower from June right through to autumn.

Do Salvias attract insects? Oh yes – bees and butterflies love them. Here’s ‘Purple Rain’ close up.

How to place these beautiful plants in the garden? They must have sun – that’s the most important thing, but they blend in with other plants happily. I wouldn’t be without them.

More blog posts by spritzhenry

Previous post: Eating the Elephant!

Next post: Beauty is in the eye of the beholder....



Comments

 

So .... you're also a salvia-aholic aswell as a geranium-aholic ;-)
You've got an amazing collection there, Spritz :-)

27 Oct, 2010

 

What a lovely show of Salvias you have there, I have enjoyed your blog on them and I will be looking out for them when I'm browsing the garden centre's, think they would look good in my front garden revamp that we done.
Thank's for showing us the pics of yours. :o))))

27 Oct, 2010

 

My goodness, what a great blog and great photos. I am short of time this morning and will return to this later, but I just wanted to note that that bright pink one looks just like a pink tarantula to me!! I'm definitely coming back to this later to get a proper look and maybe plan some for next year! Off to Pilates class now....and then to Blair Atholl later for an afternoon out with OH...might take camera...it is very beautiful up there!

27 Oct, 2010

 

didn't realise the weath of beauty in salvias lovely Spritz thanks

27 Oct, 2010

 

I confess, Louise - you're right! LOL.

I'm glad you enjoyed a look at some of my Salvias. Jackie, thay really are well worth growing.

Karen, yes - I agree, but although I'm not keen on the shape of the indivisual flowers, the colour of this plant and its flowering time makes up for it.

I'll look forward to your photos - I'm sure I went to Blair Atholl with my parents years and years ago. :-)

Thanks, Pam. :-)

27 Oct, 2010

 

What a fantastic array of salvias you have planted in your garden, Spritz. Some of the names are real tongue-twisters!

I, like Karensusan am off out in a few minutes so I'll be returning to your blog for another look and to take some notes. I won't have a lot of space for these but I am rather taken by the miniature salvia for the front of borders!

Really appreciate your patience in posting such an interesting blog, complete with so many photos. Really great.

27 Oct, 2010

 

Thank you - it did take quite a while, I have to say...but if people enjoy it, that makes it worth it. :-)))

27 Oct, 2010

 

Beautiful plants Spritz, I love Salvia nemorosa ‘Ostfriesland rosea’. Blog is in my favorites as a shopping list reminder :-)

27 Oct, 2010

 

I have one called Salvia 'Mystic Spires' - was advised it might not get through the winter last year, so took cuttings and kept it somewhere sheltered - the original survived and I have 4 others now. It is a stunner, dark blue spires of flowers, much loved by bees, as they all seem to be - except I notice the dark blue/purple ones are their favourite.

27 Oct, 2010

 

Lovely lovely blog Spritz, love the pink hairy spider, poking his tongue out, Lol, ! My fave. is the dark blue one, beautiful.

27 Oct, 2010

 

A very interesting Blog Spritz, it must be rewarding to have such a wonderful display and to know so much about them.

27 Oct, 2010

 

Great blog Barbara you certainly have a great collection, I love the vercillicata? too a GOY member identified it for me this year,I bought a packet of mixed Plantworld salvia seeds a few years ago, couldn't believe all the different varieties I got,think I've identified most now, a real favourite of mine has to be salvia sclarea, bought a lovely one this year from chilterns seeds 'Piemont' lovely dark purple flowers/bracts, quite a few plants flowered first year.
Also have one called 'Glutinosa' which seems to be a bit of a carnivore,lol, so sticky the tiny flies stick to it and can't escape, can smell it all over the garden.
Didn't know there where shrubby salvias either will be looking out for those :-)

27 Oct, 2010

 

What a interesting blog loved reading it and looking at the different salvias, thanks for sharing them with us .

27 Oct, 2010

 

These are a gorgeous plant Spritz and something that has gone straight on my wish list for next year.

What a superb blog, full of information and lots of colour too. I'll add it to my favourites so I can come back to it when the time to buy plants comes around.

27 Oct, 2010

 

Great stuff Spritz. As you've seen, I've started my salvia collection now, ( icing sugar & hot lips ), not much , but its a start, and believe it or not, its all down to you. When I first came on GOY, yours was one of the first names to pop up, and I had a good look at your previous stuff and you've got me addicted to these wonderful plants. I will be looking all over the place to enhance my " collection ", thanks . I've saved this as a fav, for further reference.

27 Oct, 2010

 

Just nominated for Goypedia, Salvias

27 Oct, 2010

 

Spritz quite fascinating....just started to collect these beautiful plants, we grow many of the culinary variety, and the large Turkestanica and some lovely shrubby species (tender unfortunately, all starting to flower now) enjoyed your pics, not sure which one I liked the best.......well all of them really lol

27 Oct, 2010

 

what a wonderful collection, the photo's are lovely.

27 Oct, 2010

 

wow barbara what a collection of salvia and so so pretty, love the white one , very nice, but like them all really, enjoyed the blog along with a bit of history to ;o)) hope your feeling better x

27 Oct, 2010

 

This is a very interesting blog ... I have just 3 Salvias and I thank you for the information on them. Keep well. : o ))

27 Oct, 2010

 

A really interesting blog with beautiful pictures, I am growing them from seeds which Simbad sent me and was amazed at how quickly they sprouted, they are Salva Piemont, S.Sclarea S Turkstanica, after seeing your wonderful collection I think Im going to be hooked!

27 Oct, 2010

 

Well Barbara, this is a great blog. I too have nominated it to Goypedia and my own favourites. Thanks for the trip round your garden.

27 Oct, 2010

 

Thank you all - what lovely things you've all said!

I grew S. sclarea 'Turkescanica' two years ago, as it's a biennial. I really must get some more seeds. :-)))

27 Oct, 2010

 

Mines flowered for 2 years now Barbara,I thought they were biennial too, sprouted new leaves again so looks like they'll make 3, but do collect the seed just in case:-)
Sent you a pm:-)

27 Oct, 2010

 

I have to admit to being puzzled about this plant. I inherited a couple, which re-appeared two years in succession, then vanished. I did grow some from seed, they behaved like biennials, and have now gone, so I can't collect the seed...silly me, I should have, last year!

I'll get another packet, though.

27 Oct, 2010

 

loved it . i have the 1st one lol .love the one with the daisys. and that bee was gawguss will b on look out 4 them on my nxt outing

27 Oct, 2010

 

Wow! Look how many of you have been on this blog since this morning! I've also added to my faves B.....I will use it as a reference next spring!

27 Oct, 2010

 

Well Spritz your fantastic blog has got me going again, I must look out for some more salvia, although where I'll put them I'm not too sure. Then there's the problem of which ones to choose... decisions, decisions. Thanks for the inspirtation though, your blogs are always a treat to read.

27 Oct, 2010

 

Thanks for coming back, Karen - also for the compliment. I know we share a love of 'Purple Rain'!

Bell - thank you. It's really hard to decide, I agree, but a nice decision. :-))

27 Oct, 2010

 

i collected seed from the S turks....... that you sent me. I will send you some in the next day or so. one good turn deserves another. :o)

27 Oct, 2010

 

Thanks, Sbg. That's kind of you. :-))))

27 Oct, 2010

 

they are all lovely Spritz,and i didn't know there were so many varieties.I have added it to my favourites too,so I can look at each of them more closely..Am I going to have some..you bet.:o)....and in answer to your question..I still make my own sage and onion stuffing,..never bought the packet stuff...hope you are feeling better Spritz...:o)

27 Oct, 2010

 

I am, thank you - getting better every day. :-)))

I'm so pleased you enjoyed the blog. That's great. :-)))

Home-made stuffing is far superior, I agree... but my liquidiser has broken down. Boo-hoo!

27 Oct, 2010

 

oh yes I only make my own. have taught the girls to do it too.

27 Oct, 2010

 

Now you`ve posed a question Spritz, looking at your huge collection which should I choose. Have sent it to my favourites and I can go back to it when I want before making my mind up.
A great blog truly appreciated.

27 Oct, 2010

 

Love all your salvias, Spritz, and great blog!! I fell in love with plain old S. splendens ages ago, and have had some every year since.

27 Oct, 2010

 

great blog B, it's made me want to look for more now LOL

28 Oct, 2010

 

Oh dear - all these GOY-ers looking round for Salvias! I should be feeling guilty about encouraging you to spend money! LOL. (I'm not, though, because I know you'll enjoy them!)

28 Oct, 2010

 

great blog,lovely photos too...think i`ll have to get some more salvias they are beautiful plants...

28 Oct, 2010

 

really lovely, i thought i liked anything blue but for me the first 3 white ones stole the show ~ fantastic

that unusual pink one reminds me of a hairy spider who is sticking his tongue out!!??

sadly my garden is not sunny enough for these ~ cant grow penstemon either, but i can grow the herb ~ i like it, its nice fried in tempura batter too!!

28 Oct, 2010

 

Oh, I am sorry you can't grow either of those sorts of plants, Sticki. One Penstemon that will take a little shade, not deep though, is 'Garnet'. Why not try that next year? Salvias - a no-no, I'm afraid. I do agree about bethelii...lol.

Thanks, Elsiemay. Which ones have you got already?

28 Oct, 2010

 

Thankyou Spritz, another great blog for my favourites, definitely a lot to choose from and thanks to your lovely photo`s I can name some plants in my daughters new garden so she will be pleased as well, what would we do without you and your knowledge,,?????????. LOL.

29 Oct, 2010

 

thanks spritzhenry, i shall look out for that one

29 Oct, 2010

 

Wow. What a fantastic variety of Salvias . . . I've made a note of jamensis 'Primrose Lights' and coahuilensis - never seen them before. Many thanks, and hope I have better luck finding them than I did with the Claytonia you recommended!! :)) but you did say it could be tricky. Btw, what is a sub shrub?

29 Oct, 2010

 

Ha - I had to learn that...having read that my Parahebes are sub shrubs. They are plants with woody bases, and then the top growth is NOT woody, unlike shrubs, where the top growth is! Think of lavender...that's a perfect example. BTW, I think I might be able to dig up a baby Claytonia or two for you in the spring, as they do seed themselves. I'll make a note next to the plant on my page, if you'd like me to have a go.

Lincslass - glad to be of assistance! :-))) I'm so pleased that you liked the blog.

29 Oct, 2010

 

Thanks for offering to dig up a baby Claytonia or two next Spring . . . that would be great. When members do this, do we send postage, or is it typical gardeners' swapping, i.e. happy to exchange with whoever?

29 Oct, 2010

 

I'll just contact you and you can send me your name/address via PM. I really don't want postage, thanks. People on here have been so generous to me, and I like sharing my plants...so yes, it's t.g.s. LOL.

29 Oct, 2010

 

Deifinitely going in my farvourites Barbara. Such a great collection & the garden looks wonderful.

29 Oct, 2010

 

Thank you very much - were the Salvias in the top border in flower when you were here? I think they probably were. :-)))

30 Oct, 2010

 

Beautiful!

30 Oct, 2010

 

Hallo Raquel - thank you! :-))

30 Oct, 2010

 

Lovely blog, I am determined to grow some salvias next year. I have some sunny spots, but the soil is on the heavy side. Thank you Barbara, for inspiring us all as usual! You are SO good at that!

30 Oct, 2010

 

Thanks for the compliment....I think my plantaholicism probably comes through the ether and affects you all! LOL.

31 Oct, 2010

 

I don`t have as many as you have in your collection, i have 2 pink ones of which one is a tall one & called Mulberry jam & then i have the purple herb one & another shruby one called Hot lips which is a red & white one....so i do need some more!!

1 Nov, 2010

 

Yes, you do! I don't know 'Mulberry Jam' - that sounds interesting. I'll have to take a look at it - is it in your photos, Elsiemay?

1 Nov, 2010

 

yes, there`s a close up of the flower on page 5,row 4 & 2nd photo!

1 Nov, 2010

 

Thanks. I'll take a look! :-)

1 Nov, 2010

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