I finished planting all my homegrown annuals on Memorial Day. I usually allow a week for hardening off my plants, but I sped up the schedule this year because the weather was just too good to pass up. I gave them only 5 days to get their act together. Only a few plants showed any signs of sunburn, and they recovered quickly.
I realized this year that I really depend on salvias to anchor the flowerbeds. They are so easy to sprout from seed and they never get floppy or unruly in the plant packs. Once they are in the garden they aren’t bothered by pests or diseases, and most of them come in my favorite garden colors—purple and red.
‘Saga Blue’ salvia is one of my favorite plants to plug in anywhere. It’s supposed to grow 10 inches tall, but I’ve grown it for several years now and it always grows about 15-18 inches tall—a great middle-of-the-border plant. The dark-purple flowers look beautiful planted next to any color. It’s taller cousin (18-24″)—‘Evolution’—is also a reliable favorite.
I also adore the tall splendens salvias like ‘Whopper Lighthouse’ which grows 30 inches tall. The flowers appear a little later in the summer, so they extend the gardening season. And because they bloom well into fall, they are a favorite of hummingbirds that are passing through during the fall migration:
I’m taken in by the flashy colors of zinnias and marigolds, but it’s really the salvias that I can depend on to hold everything together in the garden.