BLUE SAGE

Salvia officinalis 'Purpurascens' or purple sage, is a useful and beautiful addition to the home garden. Cooks and gardeners alike are indebted to this evergreen perennial for the unique, pungent flavour and aroma that its gray-green leaves produce. This cultivar has leaves suffused with steely-gray purple.

It forms a 40-50 cm tall bush with woody stems that may be trimmed back to newly emerging growth or strong stems in spring. In early to mid-summer, it sends up lavender-purple flower spikes; it has both ornamental and culinary qualities in an herb garden. It tolerates alkaline soils, but cannot survive wet winter conditions.

Salvias are some of the showiest plants for containers, annual borders, and mixed borders. Butterflies, bees and hummingbirds love them. Provide moist but well-drained soil in full sun. The plant tolerates alkaline soil.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.