I’m usually pretty organized, but for the second year in a row I completely forgot about the fact that many seed and garden supply companies also participate in Cyber Monday. In the mid-afternoon I opened my email, saw all the offers and panicked. In the past I’ve ordered seeds and paid shipping costs that were almost as much as my total order, so for the rest of the day I scrambled to put together some lists and take advantage of all the deals I could find.
I didn’t spend a lot of time gazing at all the new flowers for 2013, but one did catch my eye. I have always grown the taller red (splendens) salvias. They make great back-of-the-border plants. They bloom a little later in the summer and continue their beautiful display until late fall when most of the other annuals have pooped out. These tall salvias aren’t bothered by pests or diseases and they don’t seem to mind at all when I tuck them into shadier areas of the garden. And if all of that isn’t enough, they are a breeze to start from seed indoors. Last year I grew ‘Lighthouse Red’:
My only wish is that these reliable annuals came in another color besides red. Yesterday my wish came true when I discovered Salvia ‘Lighthouse Purple’. The plants grow 24-36 inches tall with dark-purple spikes. They did well in a 2012 University of Illinois Extension flower trial, and I can’t wait to try them.