Salvia makes scents if you're looking for color and aroma

Now that fall chill has set in, it was warming to hear a talk about plants that are the essence of hot weather — sages, plants in the genus Salvia. The talk, "Salvia and Scents," was sponsored by the Northwest Perennial Alliance at the Center for Urban Horticulture Nov. 16. The speaker, John Whittlesey, is co-owner of Canyon Creek Nursery in Oroville, Calif.

Gardeners like plants because of a genus like Salvia. The endless variation of the sages is fascinating — they come to us from far-flung parts of the world, they have gorgeous flowers and they smell good, many having strongly scented foliage.

Salvias are on many drought-tolerant plant lists, and I have always thought of them as sun-loving, low-water-use plants that relish good drainage. This is true of culinary sage (Salvia officianalis) and its many intriguing cultivars, such as 'Berggarten,' with large, round, fuzzy leaves, and 'Purpureus,' with new purple foliage.

Salvias have adapted to a wide variety of conditions. Some need additional summer water, and others like the shade. Some may be marginally hardy here, but will live through most winters or may be grown in containers. With so many different microclimates in the Northwest, it is always worth trying a plant that a book says will not grow in a certain zone.

Showing almost 100 slides, Whittlesey had time only to introduce us to some of his favorites. He believes that salvias give us some of the brightest, clearest colors, including some of the best blues, purples and reds in the garden. They bring color to the late summer and fall garden and attract butterflies and hummingbirds with their showy, nectar-laden, tubular flowers.

One of his favorites is anise-scented sage (Salvia guarantica). This is one of the tender sages that is best treated like an annual in our climate and will do well in containers. It is one of the best salvias for attracting hummingbirds and blooms from early summer to frost with many indigo-blue flowers. The cultivar 'Black and Blue' has dark, purplish-blue calyxes that set off the blue flower. (The calyx is the leafy part of the flower that is prominent in many sages.)

Salvias are easy to propagate, so you can keep them from year to year. In the fall, select the cutting from the main part of the plant (not from a blooming stem), and place it in a pot with a mix of sand and peatmoss. Cover the pot with a tent made of a plastic bag, and roots will form in a few weeks. Winter the new plant over in a windowsill or greenhouse.

Salvias offer dramatic design opportunities in the garden. Use the showy large-flowered sages in containers where they would bring color all summer to a deck or terrace. Other salvias add bright color in the garden when planted in a mixed border.

'Dark Dancer' is a salvia cultivar (Salvia greggii 'Dark Dancer') with large, raspberry-red flowers on a 3-foot-tall plant that blooms summer to frost. Whittlesey has found it to be hardy to 15 degrees, as is 'Bee's Bliss,' a hybrid of Salvia leucantha, a California native. It makes a tough groundcover with lavender flower spikes in June. Darcy sage (Salvia darcyi) will reward you with large orange-red flowers from mid-summer to October. This is a good container plant that will do well in open ground and is a plant favored by butterflies and hummingbirds.

One of my favorite salvias is Cleveland sage (Salvia clevelandii). It is worth growing just for the scent of the leaves. Canyon Creek Nursery sells plants by mail. You may view its catalog on line at www.canyoncreeknursery.com or send $2 for a catalog to Canyon Creek Nursery, 3527 Dry Creek Road, Oroville, CA 95965.

Phil Wood: 206-464-8533 or e-mail thegardendesigner@seattletimes.com