A swarm of bees in May
Is worth a load of hay;
A swarm of bees in June
Is worth a silver spoon;
A swarm of bees in July
Is not worth a fly.

If tomorrow a reporter should ask my opinion on which plant is most important to western gardeners…my response will come without hesitation. Salvia, commonly known as sage, will undoubtedly be the answer. It’s not so much that other genera are unworthy, but as a group the salvias comprise a huge range of sizes, forms, colors and uses unequalled for the California garden.

The entire spectrum of flower colors is represented, from the pure white of S. apiana to the incredibly black S. discolor; from the blighted (appearing) brown flowers of S. aurea to the intense blue racemes of S. uliginosa. The S. coccinea group provides some of the most eye-catching reds so attractive to hummingbirds. Even more exciting color selections are currently coming from a variable species, S. greggii, that at last count contained over 25 named varieties.

For colonizing (a diplomatic way of saying invasive) S. chamaedryoides is hard to beat. For winter flowers S. leucantha is foolproof. For a tough and drought tolerant ground cover, you’ll find S. ‘Bee’s Bliss’. And for its culinary value S. officinalis can be grown in almost any conditions where drainage is quick. Several sages can be grown in containers including S. coahuilensis, S. farinacea, S. microphylla grahamii ‘Red’ or ‘Purple’ and S. semi-atrata. Other salvias create showy mounds of color such as S. leucantha and S. clevelandii. Perhaps the largest growing sage available in local nurseries is Salvia gesnerifolia ‘Tequila’ which develops into a massive shrub covered with a multitude of showy red flowers with distinctive black sepals.

Rest assured if you’re growing sages for the first time, most if not all are attractive to honeybees or bumblebees. I welcome these visitors, but gardeners with small children or sting allergies may choose to avoid them. And not all salvias are perennial…most are in their best appearance by late summer. Look for an ample supply in the nursery now, and if you need help planning for special conditions don’t hesitate to ask.

–Paul      

PS. Check out ‘The New Book Of Salvias’ by Betsy Clebsch in our book department. It contains a wealth of information on this group and offers a local perspective. A bargain at $29.95