Sensational Salvias: Much More Than Those Fantastic Flowers!

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Posted by @HamiltonSquare on
Hamilton Square Perennial Garden is one of three large gardens thriving in the Sacramento Historic City Cemetery. It is an all-volunteer labor of love. The concept of a garden cemetery may strike some as unusual, but it is now a much lovelier place to rest in peace or to just visit than in its past incarnation as a derelict and vandalized city-owned property. Hamilton Square has upwards of 50 Salvias. Here are a few with qualities that bring as much joy as their flowers.

This article was originally posted on September 26, 2014. It was a good gardening idea and worth seeing again, so we hope you enjoy revisiting it.

Salvias have many notable qualities beyond the intense flower colors that delight man and beast: the fascinating moving parts of the mechanism of pollination, the variations on a theme of their sometimes fantastic flower shape, and the beautiful bracts that may outlast or outshine the flower. The genus includes forbs, woody shrubs, groundcovers, perennials, biennials, and annual plants with commercial, medicinal, ceremonial, and culinary uses. They help to maintain a healthy population of native pollinators.

Their foliage comes in many sizes, shapes, colors, and textures, ranging from smooth and shiny to deeply quilted. It can be variegated or covered in silver hairs. There are Salvias that are suitable for all of our garden zones. Another sensational feature of Salvias is the scent that comes wafting your way from the foliage. Everyone has a different appreciation for the degrees of scent. I think even the deer would not browse some.

Salvia interrupta is one example. Here it is: a handsome, low-growing, front-of-the-border option that looks good all year. The large leaves are furry and pleasant to the touch, but the scent could, I think, keep it safe from all but the most drought-starved browsers. One group of visually impaired visitors came to the garden for a 'Scents and Sensation' tour, and the consensus was that this scent is reminiscent of underarm BO. I had thought it was not too unpleasant until then. In this case, the aroma only occurs if the leaves are touched in a way that releases the aromatic oils within. It is a very worthwhile and stalwart Salvia here in zone 9B. It once had to be trimmed to the nubs due to major breakage but it regrew quickly. It does, of course, put on a wonderful show of bloom, which cannot be fully appreciated from seeing a photograph.



Here is a Salvia that has an interesting combination of beautiful foliage and foliar scent. Golden-Leaved Pineapple Sage (Salvia elegans 'Golden Delicious') has its most beautiful leaf coloration early on. Here you see it in may and then in the end of july. The leaf is edible and is said to have many medicinal properties. The flowers should come soon and you can't help but notice them. The bright red contrast is a bit jarring.



One Salvia that we can all appreciate is Culinary Sages (Salvia officinalis) . It requires relatively little maintenance. These plants are low and mounding, with a variety of choice in leaf color and shape that on close inspection shows a fantastic texture. The aroma we all know so well is intensified here in our hot sun as is the color intensity of the foliage. I'm in love with them and now I'm hungry too. Here are a few.

Purple Common Sage (Salvia officinalis 'Purpurascens')



Common Sage (Salvia officinalis 'Aurea')



Sage (Salvia officinalis 'Variegated Berggarten')



White Sage (Salvia apiana) thrives here with its beautiful white rosettes of highly aromatic foliage.



The seed heads of this Salvia are an added attraction early in the year and long into winter. It blooms in February and is a very happy sight, signaling winter's end. It is an evergreen low-growing salvia that is attractive all year.

Salvia (Salvia 'Dara's Choice')



Here is an example of a bract that persists long after the flower has gone. This shrubby salvia has beautiful silver foliage in a tightly knit, angularly structured growth. It will need annual pruning in late fall or early winter. If you zoom into this photo, you will see a few flowers amongst the bracts. We still have this one labeled S. lanceolata, not S. reflexa. If you want to purchase this one, don't ask for S. reflexa or you'll be sorely disappointed. This photo is at the bottom. This one is all about the foliage. It stands out well when paired with Stonecrop (Petrosedum rupestre subsp. rupestre 'Angelina'), as it is here.

Lyreleaf Sage (Salvia lyrata 'Purple Knockout')



Here is furry tri-lobed Salvia, which has aromatic foliage to go with its visual splendor.

Greek Sage (Salvia fruticosa)



Salvias have so many admirable qualities. You all have at least one salvia, I'm sure! I hope you have enjoyed this brief look at some of the Salvias flourishing among the tombstones here at the Hamilton Square Perennial Plant Garden.

Thumb of 2014-09-28/HamiltonSquare/b25809

Edit: The last photo is of Salvia lanceolata which was not listed in the database due to technicalities with the name.

 
Comments and Discussion
Thread Title Last Reply Replies
My Tri-Color Sage by donnabking Sep 20, 2015 6:18 PM 2
The scent is a definite plus! by blue23rose Sep 29, 2014 9:14 AM 5
Correction needed in this article! by HamiltonSquare Sep 27, 2014 9:47 AM 0

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