Plant of the Week: Salvias

An Earth Day Feast for the Bees and Butterflies and Hummingbirds

I work hard to make every day Earth Day around here, but it is always nice to take some time and to be intentional about loving our Mother Earth. So, today I have for you an Earth Day Feast – for the birds, the bees, and the butterflies. It's a plant recipe which can be adapted for almost every part of North America. These plants look fabulous together, have complimentary needs for water and sun and temperatures, and every one of them is beloved by wildlife, too.

This buffet started as a project for my mom. At the beginning of the month, I was home with my mom helping her recuperate from a knee replacement. I wanted to help her get her yard picture-perfect, too, since yard work is beyond her – at least for the season. So, I installed a new natural cedar raised bed from Eartheasy – all along the edge of her deck. I wanted to make gardening there easier so it's at a great ergonomic height. And I wanted to bring the wildlife up to her deck, too.

Once the bed was built (super easy, by the way), I filled it with fresh compost, and headed off to buy plants. I knew I wanted this bed to be filled with Salvias. They are fabulous plants that feed a wide range of wildlife and bloom for much of the summer. There are also native and cultivated varieties that thrive in her North Texas location. So my shopping trip was fun – and fruitful!

In many ways this project is a love letter to Salvias. I probably could have a garden just planted with Salvia varieties and be very, very happy. There are more than 50 different varieties of Salvia that are native to North America, and there are more than 1000 varieties found worldwide – not counting cultivars.

My love affair with Salvias began in Sacramento, California, where I had several species planted in the toughest part of my garden – lacking water, baking in the sun, and against the reflected heat of concrete. They bloomed non-stop for years. Here in Colorado, they are a central feature of the Wildlife Garden, and I have varieties planted in the Cutting Garden, in the Rose Bed, and throughout the rest of the garden, too. In general Salvias bloom prolifically, love sun, are waterwise, and are beloved by bees and other insects as well.

All of the Salvias

As I was thinking about my mom's garden, I needed to choose Salvias that can handle the intense humid-heat of North Texas, full sun, and periods of drought – though the bed where these are planted is irrigated.

Salvia greggii is the native Salvia of West Texas and Northern Mexico, so I looked for cultivars of this parentage, and I found two varieties at the local garden center: Salvia greggii 'Mirage Cherry Red' and Salvia greggii 'Mirage Soft Pink.'

1. Salvia 'Love and Wishes' | 2. Salvia Mystic Spires Blue | 3. Salvia greggii 'Mirage Cherry Red' | 4. Salvia greggii 'Mirage Soft Pink.' | 5. Salvia 'Amistad' | 6. Salvia greggii 'Mirage Cherry Red' | 7. Salvia greggii | 8. Salvia Mystic Spires Blue

Salvia greggii (Autumn Sage)

• Native to western Texas and northern Mexico

• Tough, hardy, drought tolerant

• Beloved by bees and hummingbirds

• 2 to 3 feet tall and slightly wider

• Generally hardy in USDA Zone 7

• Colors include red, pink, rose, purple, orange, and white.

• Prune hard in early spring to encourage more flowers and to keep it from getting too woody.

• Other cultivars available include:

  • ‘Hot Lips’: 3 ft. tall; red and white bicolor flowers

  • ‘Dark Dancer’: 4 ft. tall; deep fuschia flowers

  • ‘Flame’: 2 to 3 ft. tall; deep red flowers

  • ‘Maraschino’: 3 ft. tall; scarlet red flowers

  • ‘Wild thing’: 2 ft. tall ; deep coral pink, darker-throated flowers

I also chose two commercially-common Salvias: Salvia 'Amistad' and Salvia 'Love and Wishes.' Salvia Amistad is not hardy in Colorado, but it is gorgeous, and I have broken my rule (don't grow perennials as annuals) and have grown it in pots before, because it is so glorious. I had never seen 'Love and Wishes' before, but it was so blowsy and full, that I just put it in the cart, too. Honestly, it is a scene-stealer!

The last of the five Salvias is Mystic Spires Blue. I chose this variety because it's been designated a Texas Superstar variety by horticulturalists at Texas A&M University as well as at other sites across Texas. This is your land-grant university system at work for you, again! When plants have been tested in a university setting and are found to thrive in local conditions, that's a great way to choose something that will thrive in your garden!

1. Lamb's Ear | 2. Grande Black Heuchera | 3. Alexander's Great Brunnera

Highlights and Lowlights

In addition to the five varieties of Salvia, I chose three plants that function as the highlight and lowlights.

Alexander's Great Brunnera

With the upright and colorful blooms of the Salvia varieties, Alexander's Great Brunnera provides beautiful contrast. It's variegated leaves are largely white which shines out underneath the soaring spires of the Salvia. Brunneras love a part-sun position, and because my mom's bed stretches from shade to sun, I know they will be very happy at the shadier end of the raised bed.

Grande Black Heuchera

Heuchera deserves to be Plant of the Week on its own at some point. It is one of those versatile plants that can find a home in almost any garden. Heuchera are native to North America. I have spotted them in the wild here in Colorado, in fact. But these cultivars that stray from the straight species are not as helpful for native wildlife. They do bloom, however, and are gorgeous as the understory in a planting scheme. In my mom's bed, they are at the sunnier end of the bed underplanting and eventually spilling over the edges. The frilly edges of the Heuchera leaves are a gorgeous texture, too.

Lamb's Ear

I love Lamb's Ear. Its fuzzy leaves add a gorgeous texture to any garden. And they lend an English garden feel to any planting – which my mom loves. But there's even more to recommend Lamb's Ear. While they aren't grown for their flowers, no one told the bees that. Bees LOVE Lamb's Ear – especially native bumblebees. And they are a plant that is easy to split and propagate. So I bought a few knowing that my mom would like to have more around the garden. By next spring she will be able to split them and put them anywhere she'd like.

So that's it! The recipe for my mom's raised bed garden. This is a recipe that can be adapted and replicated almost anywhere in North America. Use the varieties that thrive in your climate – there are so many! And if you do, let us know how it all turns out!

The Plant List

Here's the full plant list for my mom's raised bed garden:

• Salvias:

  • Salvia greggii 'Mirage Cherry Red'

  • Salvia greggii 'Mirage Soft Pink.'

  • Salvia 'Love and Wishes'

  • Salvia 'Amistad'

  • Mystic Spires Blue | Salvia longispicata x farinacea ‘Mystic Spires Blue’

• GRANDE™ Black Heuchera | Heuchera x villosa 'TNHEUGB' PP #30,992

• Alexander's Great Brunnera | Brunnera macrophylla 'Alexander's Great' PP #25,789

• Lamb's Ear | Stachys byzantina

Thanks to Eartheasy who sent the raised bed for my mom! Such a lovely gift! They are having an Earthweek sale this week, too! If you are looking to buy good gardening gear from an ethical and environmentally-conscious company, check them out!

Salvias in my Garden

And because I know it will be asked, here are the four Salvia varieties in my Wildlife Garden:

• May Night | Salvia x sylvestris ‘May Night’

  • Also sold as ‘Mainacht’

  • Deep violet-blue flowers

  • I have found this to be unpredictable here in Zone 5/6. Some plants have overwintered. Others have not.

  • If cut back after blooming, it will repeat bloom, but the flowers will be less spectacular in subsequent flushes.

• Caradonna | Salvia nemorosa ‘Caradonna’

  • Deep blue-violet flower spikes with dark purple stems

  • An early-summer blooming salvia

  • If cut back after blooming, it will repeat bloom, but the flowers will be less spectacular in subsequent flushes.

• Ultra Violet | Salvia Ultra Violet PP#21,411

  • A cold-hardy Salvia greggii hybrid

  • Violet-pink colored flowers

  • ‘Ultra Violet’ thrives in full sun and heat.

• FlowerKisser™ Royal Rose Salvia | Salvia x 'WWG04'

  • Native hybrid

  • Deep rose pink flowers

  • An exceptionally long bloomer

• Other varieties in my garden (but not in the Wildlife Garden):

  • Salvia White Profusion

  • Salvia Perfect Profusion

  • Salvia Lyrical Blues

If you have questions about Salvias – or about my mom's new garden bed – don't hesitate to ask!

And if you are growing Salvias, drop in on the comments! Tell us where you are growing, what kinds, and give us a photo if you have one!

Happy Gardening!
Angela

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A version of this piece has been published on WildRevivalGardening.com. Republished with permission.