Salvias – a garden’s vivacious
merrymakers! by Sally Gregson
PLANT PROFILE
There comes a time when summer’s temper inflames the garden’s mood. The colours get louder, stronger and more strident. The misty pastels of spring, the freshness of early summer are long gone. Party-time has begun.
Among the most vivacious merrymakers are the salvias. From the purple spikes of the mat-forming perennials and the vermillion flowers of the sub-shrubs, to the dazzling annuals, salvias know how to get noticed. They turn all the heads.
The lower growing perennials Salvia nemerosa and S. x sylvestris, make their entrance in June and July. They form tight clumps of spiky flowers and dark pointed leaves. These are the toughies of their sisterhood and probably for that reason they have become a great favourite of Dutch and German plant breeders who have selected increasingly fine forms.
Salvia nemerosa ‘Caradonna’ is a striking newcomer. Its tall (75cm), near-black stems and calyxes set off the bright violet flowers from June to August and would stand magnificently alongside a strong purple bearded iris such as Iris ‘Deep Black’ and the spiky, dark blue flowers of the
Salvia x sylvestris ‘Mainacht’ makes a dense 18ins mound covered with purple flowers and redder bracts
silvery sea holly, Eryngium bourgatii ‘Picos Blue’. If the salvia is cut back after flowering it often flowers again in early autumn to coincide with the screaming pink daisies of Aster n-a. ‘Andenken an Alma Potschke’.
Cultivating Salvias
greenhouse or cold-frame.
Salvia nemerosa ‘Caradonna’ - a striking newcomer
Salvia x sylvestris ‘Mainacht’ (AGM) is another striking plant. It makes a dense 45cm (18ins) mound covered with purple flowers and redder bracts. It’s these bracts that make the colour shimmer, and remain on the plant after the petals have dropped. And Salvia verticillata ‘Purple Sensation’ is a classy plant indeed. It produces whorls of flower on short spikes (30cm, 1ft) over silvered woolly foliage all summer long. It’s truly herbaceous too so
We offer an outstanding range of homegrown plants, including our specialist range of Agapanthus. They are looking at their best in mid summer so visit then to enjoy an unbeatable range of old and new varieties. Lavender & Heuchera are also a speciality.
High St, Beaulieu, Hampshire SO42 7YR Tel 01590 612307 or visit
www.fairweathers.co.uk
24 Country Gardener
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56