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| A mix of salvia greggii and salvia nemorosa in the cottage garden, viewed across the blooms, but there are many companions surrounding these sages. |
When I began my research into deer resistant plants, salvia topped the list. The first salvia greggii planted in my garden is the beautiful 'Navajo Bright Red' (difficult to find). A grouping of five is still flourishing and delivering masses of blooms in spring and fall. During the heat of the summer, the blooms are sparse, but the foliage of the plant, evergreen in my zone 7b garden provides year-round satisfaction—characteristics of all greggii varieties.
Maintenance is similar to butterfly bushes (buddleia). I cut back and shape salvia greggii in late winter, removing the dead wood and to keep the plant flexible and full of foliage to produce the blooms.
The plants are tough as long as they aren't overwatered or stand in wet soil. Drought-tolerant, deer and rabbit resistent, the results of using the sages for gardening in full sun is rewarding.
I now grow salvia greggii in the cottage garden, the deer resistant garden and in containers—in planned vignettes, randomly mixed and literally contained. For the versatility and low-maintenance, salvias are among my perennial favorites.
Is there a downside? Yes—salvia greggii is very difficult to photograph! My photos are rather dark because I had to wait for evening or cloudy days to capture the colors and shapes of the blooms!
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| Salvia greggii 'Navajo Bright Red' began in full sun and is now partially shaded by a mature weeping willow. Companions, monarda 'Jacob Cline' and crocosmia 'Lucifer'. April 2012. |
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| Salvia greggii 'Texas Wedding' is a creamy white. Planted at the edge of a path in front of roses, a potted hosta (shaded), daylilies and saliva farinacea 'Victoria Blue' (yet to bloom) are companions. April 2012. |
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| Salvia greggii 'Diane' (dark purple in front of burgundy loropetalum) surrounded by other sun-loving companions in the cottage garden. April 2012. |
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| Salvia greggii 'Autumn Sage' and 'Dark Dancer' randomly mixed across the deer resistant meadow garden. April 2012. |
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| I purchased this salvia last week, but when I got home, there was no ID tag! The color is a creamy white with pale peach tones and dark stems. Planted with salvia officinalis 'Purpurascens' and thyme. April 2012. |
| Words and photos by Freda Cameron, Defining Your Home, Garden and Travel. Deer and rabbit resistance varies based upon the animal population and availability of food. All company or product or patented names mentioned are registered trademarks, copyrights, or patents owned by those respective companies or persons. |
I have some sages in my garden too. Love them. I need to research what kinds they are as they were given to me from garden friends. I also love to see the wide shots as it gives a real look into your garden. Beautiful!
ReplyDeleteThere are so many sages and I am no expert! I love the greggii for the year-after-year great performance. They never disappoint.
DeleteI love your sages, particularly in the meadow garden.
ReplyDeleteI lost seven salvias planted back in the Autumn in a new border. Big shame, they were a really nice blue. Labelled simply salvia 'monroe blue' and stating an unfeasibly long bloom time, the big chill back in Feb did for them. One night we dropped to -20C.
Your April pictures show you way ahead of Spring compared to us this year. This is turning out to be one of the wettest and coolest Aprils on record in France.
Paris was rather cool and wet while we were there a few weeks ago. I'm sorry to hear you're losing plants. Compared to 2011 photos in April and May, these salvias are about 3 weeks ahead of schedule.
DeleteWow - your garden is so much farther along than ours here in the Seattle area. Our salvias are just barely leafing out or coming back up. We found a new mail order source - Flowers by the Sea in Elk, CA. Amazing selection - mostly species. We've had pretty good luck ordering plants although they could be packaged a bit better. The new plant in the pot could be a jamensis hybrid.
ReplyDeleteMarta, I believe you are correct about the container salvia being a jamensis hybrid. I bought it because the chocolate stems worked with the chocolate glazed pots. I'll have to return to the local garden center soon to see if they still have these so that I can get the ID. We have so many great local nurseries that I rarely order online now...and I tend to order from LazySS Farm in Virginia rather than across the country. I have ordered from High Country in the past, but those were bulbs.
DeleteHIGHLIGHTING OUR LOCAL NURSERIES: The salvia greggii 'Texas Wedding' and 'Diane' were purchased at Plant Delights Nursery (Tony Avent, owner). They are having an open house the weekend of May 4 and the weekend after that. The hot pink 'Autumn Sage' were purchased at Big Bloomers Flower Farm in Sanford, NC. The container salvia (and other plants in the same pot) purchased at Southern States, a farmers co-op, in Carrboro, NC.
ReplyDeleteStunning combinations - I love salvias but I don't believe I have salvia greggii. Something else to add to my ever growing list.
ReplyDeleteGreat for drier, sunnier spots in the garden.
DeleteI love Salvia greggii too. Great color, minty leaves, deer hate it -- what's not to love? The key is regular pruning; otherwise, it gets all leggy and woody.
ReplyDeleteI cut mine back at the same time I cut the buddleia and ornamental grasses. I don't know if that works in all zones, but it works here.
DeleteHi Freda,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed seeing your gardens, and reading about the salvias. I planted a couple kinds of salvia nemerosas last year, and they are looking good, but won't bloom for a few weeks. I think the other kind you showed are annuals here.
The salvia farinacea are supposed to be annuals/tender perennials here, but they overwinter quite well for me in the sunny cottage garden.
DeleteAlways in awe of your garden (color, texture, form), Freda, and a stunning 'no name' salvia in your handsome container ... lovely! And so agree ... anything red is so hard to photograph! Happy Gardening fun friend :)
ReplyDeleteSages are one thing I wish I had more of. They sure do shine in your garden. I think you did a great job photographing them.
ReplyDeleteI am finding that sages and salvia's do well in my soil conditions. I am adding more as I find them on sale. Your looks so full and happy! I can only hope mine will thrive as your some day...
ReplyDeleteI just LOVE my salvia greggi...I have 2 varieties...red, and hot pink. I didn't even cut them back this past year because after our non-existent winter, they started filling out again before I had a chance. I am loving the fact that they are spreading out a bit further and are woody. It means they are established in the gardens! At the end of this season I'll cut them back to the woody bases but I'm glad I didn't do it this year. I'm getting double the amount of color by not doing so. It's a wonderful native plant for hot dry areas, which we also have plenty of here in the DC area, especially during July/Aug/Sept.
ReplyDelete