Maybe Salvia penstemonoides?
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/98675/
It does really well for me in the dry part of my property. Another good native sky blue that will handle dry areas here is S azurea:
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/1072/
=)
Which salvias do you like in your cottage garden?
Oh geez - I totally forgot about the Victoria sage. Mine actually overwintered near some concrete steps. I love the Wedgewood blue blooms.
I have several Victoria Blues and they have come back for about 8 years for me now.
I love the color of the Victoria Blue - it will go on my list to try!
The red salvia from High Island (and my flower bed) is unlike my other salvias. It isn't bushy and huge, it's thin and spiky - about 2 feet tall - no bushiness. I probably bought it at the Arbor Gate - will investigate next time I go over there. (which is always a real treat!)
Go there go there or cyber go there?
What about plain ol' Mealy Cup Sage? http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/showimage/80251/
I have this growing in my backyard (came with the house) and it withstands our hot summers and cold winters. It dies back during the winter, but it comes back in the spring. My DH has whacked it down many times and it grows back bigger than it was before! Here's a pic of it just the other day.
lol.... go there go there, pagancat! That is when I can come up with the 2 hours RT driving time. It's so worth it, though.
I love mealy cup sage - always love the blues. Yours must be next to a daylily - send a pic when they're both in bloom, please, please, Stephanie
Here's a couple from last year. It was the first year for the daylily to bloom. It also came with the house and I had no idea what it was! We've been here for 4 years now and I'm hoping to start planting more things in this area of the yard.
And another one. I'm pretty sure the daylily is a Kwanzo, but not totally sure.
Thanks, Stephanie! I love the yellow day lilies with the blue. My daylilies started blooming a couple of days ago - I'm so excited!
Really nice combo, Stephanie.
Once again, thanks to one of the threads that I have been reading, I find myself digging deep into my pocket and wallet to purchase yet more plants. I decided that I need more salvias, now that I have seen that were are so many more out there. While looking at salvias I noticed agastaches. From what I am reading it looks as if agastache are cousins to salvias. I decided to go with two pretty ones that will hopefull attract more hummingbirds and butterflies into my garden.
I am getting agastache cana (a raspberry color) and sunset hyssop (a pale shade of orange).
Thanks Jo :)
Oh, you'll love the agastaches as well! The hummingbirds and goldfinches go nuts over mine and it's fun to watch them ... not to mention how pretty the flowers are!
Sorry to but in ... but I was lurking and just wanted to add this....
If you are talking about the Agastaches... you gotta get Apricot Sprite Agastache... it smells so fruity all over the yard and the blooms are a peachy - orange... it is georgous!!!!
You all will love it and so do the bees and butterflies!
Sharon
Bookworm28, your Salvia is Texas sage 'Navajo' I believe, they do well here in my garden. Needs light pruning in early spring to shape, tolerate drought fairly well. The stems are more fibrous compared that to many other hybrids.
Sharon - welcome to the discussion! Glad for the suggestion.
Lily - It might just be that one. I'll go look it up. It's not a bushy plant at all - and spreads by runners. Does yours spread like that? It is very fibrous and tough.
Salvia guaranitica 'Black & Blue' didn't overwinter for me, although it was planted high & dry. My favorite is salvia leucantha, but it doesn't really kick in until it gets hot-at the end of summer, though, & into the fall, watch out! This year, I've planted some salvia 'Viola Klose', we'll see how it does...
Jo,
I was doing some research, and found out today that there is an agastache and salvia forum. You might get some good information there as well.
Thistle, Same here on the B&B not coming back. We havd a Z7 winter, too, very mild for this area, and the drainage is perfect...errr, I like to think so, anyway. :) Totally disappointed. But i have 2 husky seedlings coming along, so maybe there is hope for more this year. I think my Salvia patens came back though. It is a startling blue in late July on to frost.
Penne, LOL! There are so many forums on DG I forget about half of them.
Suzy
Not a black & blue Salvia but I had a S. coccinea (potted) that did not come back. The stalks split with a freeze and apparently that damaged the roots and killed it. Fortunately it reseeded and is slowly coming back.
DMJ(Debbie), I got Salvia Penstemonoides last year from High country gardens. It is doing well for me but when and how much does does it bloom for you in houston? Do you do anything special as far as drainage with all the rain we get.?
Sooo..... are you deadheading your Salvias? My May Night has gone gangbusters up til now - still has blooms, but they are reaching the tips of the wands. Do I selectively take some off or just just shear the whole thing?
Speaking for me, yes. I am not waiting for seed right now but want to enjoy more blooms. The seed saving will come later in summer.
teacup--it does great for me and blooms March-April, its in the area I lovingly call my "xeric" area (which is pretty funny normally in Houston--although I haven't seen any rain in well over a month here at my place). That means its in the extreme back of my property (north side) which has a perfect back to front drainage incline (one of the advantages of picking your lot and having your house built--also helps to be one of the first houses in the subdivision for this), excellently draining, very lush soil, raised bed, lots of mulch (very thick--this keeps a lot of the summer rainfall out unless its a really hard rain), full sun until about 5 pm--then its shaded. Its in the same bed as some Salvia azurea, xeric scutellaria's, manfreda maculosa, kniphofia's, stachys coccinea, and other stuff that likes a drier area.
I did mine from seed, but I really like High Country Gardens--their plants and those from Niche Gardens transition into my gardens splendidly--better than any other perennial mail order company, in my opinion.
As with all things in gardening....its location, location, location.
Debbie
Debbie, The S penstemonoides should be happy then. It is in the same bed as the xeric scutellaria that is currently blooming its head off. I didn't get any blooms this year but it seems to really be growing well.So I'll patientlywait until next year. my husband is seeing the benefits of planting perrenials and then letting them sleep,creep,leap. He has really been enjoying the garden this year now that some of my"vision" is finely big enough to bloom.
What does a xeric scutellaria look like?
~Lucy
lots of scutellaria species and hybrids like it dry (great rock garden plants) or are woodland species--and there are tropical species from the mountains of Central America. I like the xeric and woodlanders best myself--I'm really not at all crazy about the oriental or tropical species.
my favorite good xeric species are S drummondii:
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/showimage/34246/
S resinosa:
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/showimage/149955/
I like this one but only have seedlings so far:
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/showimage/179872/
The picture below is S alpina ssp supina--not really blooming good yet--does much better later summer with lots of heat. Its hard for me to find many pics that aren't copyrighted and I don't like to use those on the forums. I have sooooo many pictures that I have to cut out the ones I'm not going to use.
Here's one from High Country Gardens--a sterile hybrid called 'Violet Cloud' (pic below). Its going in the ground the next cloudy day we have.
There is also this one, S suffrutescens; but I think its a bit overused now that its widely available at every "big-box' store--I keep one plant though:
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/51664/
Thanks, those are beautiful. I have 4 different kinds, but I'd have to go through my papers to see what they are. I just love them. : ) 2 of them are lavender or purple, and one is a hot pink. The 4th one hasn't bloomed yet.
~Lucy
I like Scutellaria's a lot better than Salvia's actually--much longer bloom season on them. But I do like the species Salvia's too.
You and me both, I love salvias also, but you are right, longer blooming on the Scutellarias. : )
~Lucy
Debbie, I like that picture of Violet Cloud. I'm putting this down for next year. I have had better luck with planting from High Country gardens in the spring. Most other perennials do better for me when planted in the fall, but maybe we are just a tad too wet in winter and planting in the spring seems to be better for plants from them since most of their stuff is xeric..
I just bought 3 of these salvias for my yard. The color looks great with my roses and other plants I think. It is labeled Black and Blue.
You're gonna love 'em!
Yes, I think so too! They are so pretty and I adore the leaves. Salvias are really good in my area because they are drought tolerant and look pretty in intense sunlight.
Anybody have S.Pink Panther , not sure of Botanical name Just got that one , it is real pretty!
Sharon
Uh uh, never seen it before. Got pics? >smile< .
This is Caradonna Salvia, a little past it's prime. It reminds me a lot of May Night Salvis except that the stems are a wine color and it's a little taller. I used it to shade the bottoms of some very tall lilies.
This message was edited Jun 11, 2008 2:35 PM
This is Salvia May Night... They are beautiful and easly seperated about every 2 years...
That's really pretty! It's the first time that I have seen a row of plants with blue blooms. Usually blue plants are part of the picture instead of being the focus.