Favorite Cheap Plant

I was at the spring Strawberry Festival in Delaplane Virginia two years ago, with its bluegrass bands, raptors, food booths, organ grinder monkey, and craft vendors. The bluegrass and raptors were great, as was the kettle corn and strawberry shortcake booths. Between all the country rag dolls and tree stump clocks and chairs there was a plant vendor literally tucked into the corner.

Containers of strawberries were being scarfed up at incredibly high prices. And the containers were labeled Driscoll's just like those in the local supermarkets. I asked if Driscoll's supplied the containers for free. "No, Driscoll's grew the strawberries in California." Strawberry harvest time in Virginia can vary widely, so to be sure there are strawberries available for the festival, they are flown in from California. We stopped at a farm on the way home to field pick our own from local growers.

Back at the plant vendor and looking for something cheap, I ended up at the small-potted herbs and succulents table. I picked up a pineapple sage (Salvia elegans), and was informed about its care and planting instructions. Only a few dollars buys chartreuse leaves with a pineapple fragrance. "Be sure to take cuttings in the fall, or repot it and bring it indoors to keep it going."

It went into the side yard garden where it comfortably grew during the summer. Then in the late fall, these incredible 12-inch (30 cm) red spires appeared above the leaves, just as the world turns mums and orange. Is it the contrast against the lime green leaves that cause the red to jump out?

Repot in the fall? Sure, right. All the dead things are being ripped out of the garden and football calls on the weekend. Spring bulbs are lucky to get planted the week before Christmas. Still, leaves were raked, chopped, and spread around the beds for the winter.

It grows up to 3-feet in height (1 m) as a bush in its native Mexico highlands where hummingbirds love it. In the salvia genus, it is used in traditional Mexican medicine, for anxiety and high blood pressure treatment. A preliminary study shows antidepressant and antianxiety properties in mice. The internet presents concoctions for teas made from the leaves, and P. Allen Smith has a recipe for Pineapple Sage Pound Cake.

This spring, the little cheap pineapple sage came back. And, it had two babies from seeds or rooted from fallen stems. Does it like me or what?

For The Record:   • Clay soil with gypsum & organic amendments   • Full sun on a sloping site   • Small amount of fertilizer   • No serious pests/disease   • Overwintered with small amount of protection

My World Is Blue

It is that time of the year when most of the spring blooms are finished and the summer perennials have not yet come on. In recent years, I tried to collect some plants for the cottage garden that can fill in this period with some interest and activity. This spring, these plants are blooming, but I see an accident. All the plants are blue or purple. Oops.

This is the result of never coordinating plant colors, other than to keep pink things (which I don't have a lot of) away from yellow things. This combination makes me nauseous.

Filling in two rear yard beds, the ajuga is blooming. These were planted as a shady ground cover last year, so their spring blooming is a welcome surprise - much taller than I expected. Leaves are green, but turn a dark maroon in the summer.

The side yard has a new blue iris, blue muscari, along with some late-late show pink tulips. I waited two years for this particular iris to bloom. The pink tulips are leftovers from last year, and looking good considering that they are repeat bloomers.

The front has blue 'May Night' salvia and magenta drumstick alliums. The salvia and allium could do a better job of coordinating their colors. Blue and magenta are too close to each other. I wish foliage on the alliums would last until after they bloom, instead of dying off as they start to bloom. This allium is supposedly 'Persian Blue,' but their color says the nursery lied.

Garden Calendar:   • Blooming: azaleas, Clarence iris, ajuga, salvia, allium, macrorrhizum geranium, muscari

The Dead Zone

I call it the garden's dead zone: the time in the seasonal calendar between spring and summer when there is little in the garden blooming. Last year in an attempt to add some interest to the garden at this time, a new salvia was planted that I saw blooming around a nearby 7-Eleven store. A trip to a local nursery produced a purple salvia (salvia nemorosa) called May Night. This one was awarded the "1997 Perennial Plant Of The Year" by the Perennial Plant Association.

The blossom color is a very intense violet blue. I do not appreciate the smell when the leaves are brushed against. The first surprise was that the plant produced a seedling from last year's seeds, even after growing in dry conditions, and after a winter that killed my crocosmia and oregano. The offspring is now blooming, too. The second surprise is that it grew a healthy amount of blooms this spring, only its second year.

For The Record:   • Medium soil, somewhat dry conditions   • Full sun   • No fertilizer Garden Calendar:   • Blooming: Mountain laurel, salvia, geranium, coreopsis, astilbe   • Cleome, snapdragon, castor seedlings planted

Silver Blue

Two types of salvia were planted about three years ago in the front display flower garden. Only one comes back each year after winter, but the exact name was lost. Of the two, the most interesting one survives. Flower stalks and buds are a silver white color, and only the actual petals are colored in an electric blue. It earned the nickname 'silver blue.' This has been a reliable no-problem plant over the years.