Flaming June!!

It’s been an odd sort of season with the weather baking hot in April, hose pipes in early May, and a cool damp start for June. At least there are still some good old standby plants that never let us down. One of my firm favourites and one that is as tough as old boots is Salvia transylvanica. The latin name, or specific epithet to be precise, transylvanica, indicates it’s origin as as being a native from central Russia through to Romania and the Transylvanian Alps. No wonder it’s nick name is the ‘Vampire Sage’. It forms very leafy clumps which produce lax stems of rich violet blue whorls. We have been growing it flanking the steps that lead to the Lily ponds, and here it looks wonderful with the purple Aeonium ‘Swartkop’ and the spreading Erigeron karvinskianus. If there was one criticism about this Salvia, it is that it self seeds like crazy if you don’t dead head them, but hey! thats not such a bad thing for a plant that will flower for about two months.