Indigo Spires Sagea

Sage
Salvia 'Indigo Spires'
(SAL-vee-uh)

It took several attempts to get a good picture of this flower. It certainly popped up at virtually every nursery I visited this spring. I didn’t buy any because it was already starting to sprawl a little bit in the 6-inch pots. It would seem that it gets much taller than the advertised 36 inches. The flower color is awesome and the foliage is the typical rough green of Salvias, it makes me itchy just looking at it. There is a more dwarf variety of this plant called ‘Mystic Spires’ and that looks to be a more manageable plant.

Every year we make a planting of ‘Black and Blue’ on someone’s terrace. They love it because of the amount of Hummingbirds it attracts. I like it because it just grows very nice without any maintenance needed. One afternoon while working in the area I saw two hummers on the patch at the same time. It was a delicate and beautiful natural ballet. The flowers on ‘Black and Blue’ are a little different (more tubular) but I suspect that 'Indigo Spires' would certainly bring in the butterflies and bees.

Jerusalem Sage

Jerusalem Sage
Phlomis fruticosa
(FLOW-miss) (froo-tih-KOH-suh)

Here is a flower that should be more widely grown. The semi furry flowers are unusual and the wholly aromatic foliage is nice too. It isn’t quite hardy here in Connecticut but it has successful overwintered here before. A native of Central Europe this plant is part of the mint family. It is considered a shrub and can get tall (4-6 feet) but if it gets too big it can be hard sheared in the spring. Jerusalem Sage is drought tolerant and prefers well drained soil.

I hope everyone is ready for Christmas. Things are getting to a bit of a fevered pitch now. Karen’s new lens arrived yesterday and I hope to go out and shoot a couple of pictures with it to test it since it was actually purchased used.

Golden Pineapple Sage

Golden Pineapple Sage
Salvia elegans 'Golden Delicious'
(SAL-vee-uh) (ELL-eh-ganz)

Hummingbird Sage

Hummingbird Sage
Salvia coccinea ‘Cherry Blossom’
Synonyms: Texas Sage, Scarlet Sage, 'Coral Nymph'

This plant looked familiar to me and when I found out it is the same plant as ‘Coral Nymph’ I knew why. Under either name this plant is a beauty that gives an unusual color with an upright but dwarf habit. It grows to 15 inches tall and is an annual in Connecticut’s climate. I grew some last year and didn’t get any seedlings but it does supposedly reseed itself, maybe that is just in warm climates where it is a tender perennial.

The delicate color makes a nice contrast with darker colored plants but it can also stand by itself in a mass. I have found it grows well in containers, too. Sometimes when the real heat starts it needs the tops sheared off to get it started blooming again.

At The New York Botanical Garden the Salvia coccinea ‘Cherry Blossom’ was planted with Hare's Tail Grass (Lagurus ovatus ‘Bunny Tails’). It is a cute little annual grass that I hadn’t seen before. Reading up it appears to be easy to grow from seed and in the garden. I will have to try some next year.

A Few Fall Flowers

A Few Fall Flowers

These are a few more pictures I took in late summer and fall this year. I am still feeling kind of washed out from the events of Friday but the reality has sunk in. This first picture is a pretty little species of Aster that I found growing at the edge of the woods. I have identified it as Aster linariifolius or Stiff Aster. It grows as a wildflower in the Eastern United States from Maine to Florida and Eastern Canada. This one seems to have a washed out color compared to some of the photos I have seen but did have the characteristics of the very thin hemlock type of leaves and the single flower per stem.

Synonyms: Lonactus linariifolia, Flax-leaved Aster


Blue Anise Sage
Salvia guaranitica 'Black and Blue'
(SAL-vee-uh) (gwar-uh-NYE-tik-uh)
Synonyms: Brazilian Sage

This second picture was just a lucky snap of a plant I have seen on a lot of other people’s garden blogs. I have read nothing but rave reviews of its culture. It is grown as an annual in Connecticut and maybe hardy in USDA Zone 7 with a heavy mulching. It gets quite large (up to 6 feet tall) especially in areas where it overwinters. There it can turn into a woody perennial or subshrub. I found the color to be beautiful and the darker color calyx just adds to the overall color scheme. I hope to get some more photos of this one next year and maybe grow a few myself. There are other cultivars available including 'Argentina Skies' and the dark purple 'Purple Splendour'. Every time I look there seems to be more Salvias coming to market, which is okay with me. They are tough plants that seem to bloom no matter what.


This was a funky plant I saw at Wave Hill Gardens in the Bronx. Since there was no sign I am guessing it is some kind of Eucomis or Pineapple Lily. I couldn’t really track it down on the Interent. I did find out that there are a lot of cultivars and species available to gardeners. I have been growing one in Connecticut but it has never bloomed. I think it maybe in too much shade. The foliage is always nice and it isn’t supposed to be hardy as Eucomis seems rated for USDA Zone 7. This was a stunning flower and this picture doesn’t really do it justice. If anyone has any more information on it please post a comment.

This last picture is:


Mountain Fleece Flower
Persicaria amplexicaulis 'Firetail'
(per-sih-KAR-ee-uh) (am-pleks-ih-KAW-liss)

it is a perennial that has some bad relatives but this Persicaria is a nice perennial that is very reliable. I did a post back in October of 2006 if you want some more information.

Old Post on Persicaria

It is starting to snow here pretty heavily and a mixed bag of snow, sleet and rain is predicted. This is the first snow other than a few flurries. I hope the old tale of the amount of snowstorms you will have will be the same as the date you get the first snow. Since it is December 2nd, having two major storms all winter would be great. I am not holding my breath on that though.