The Joy of Herbs

Santolina in June, © Barbara Radisavljevic

I love growing herbs in my garden. They feed the bees in winter when almost nothing else is blooming. In spring and summer they add color to my flower beds. In fall their dry flower stems add interesting shapes and textures. Here are some of my favorites. I took these photos at different times of the year. The santolina above adds a lovely gold to my flower beds.

Sages

I grow these sages mostly for their interesting foliage, though the clary sage does bloom in the summer, producing large flower spikes. 

I took the photo above in mid-October. On the left, is tricolor sage. To its right, clary sage. Below is some clary sage in bloom in June. It's surrounded by fading irises and the chard is reaching behind it as its seeds ripen and prepare to disperse.

Clary Sage in Bloom in June, © Barbara Radisavljevic

Wild Watermelon sage adds a bit more color to the garden than some of the other sages.

Wild Watermelon Sage in April, © Barbara Radisavljevic

Garden View of Wild Watermelon Sage in April

The black sage below has finished blooming. It's dry flower spikes are still striking.

Dry Black Sage, © Barbara Radisavljevic

Oregano

By October, my favorite herb, oregano, is almost through blooming, but you can still see plenty of its white flowers. This is the herb I use the most. I dry some every year. For kitchen use I pick it before before the buds form. but I always leave some to bloom. 

Oregano in Bloom, October, © Barbara Radisavljevic

Hyssop

Below the hyssop has almost stopped blooming, but you can still see a few purple flowers. At this time of year, October, most of the interest comes from the dry flower spikes that hold the seeds. Most of the seeds have dispersed by now. 

Hyssop in October, © Barbara Radisavljevic

The photo below was taken in mid-August and gives you a better look at the blooms and how they contrast with the dry spikes. 

Hyssop in Mid-August, © Barbara Radisavljevic

Rosemary

Rosemary is another of my favorite plants. It provides fragrant branches for winter decorating, and it usually blooms in winter and helps the bees. It's also very easy to root a twig of it in water. I have four large rosemary plants and I rooted all of them from slips from a plant in the backyard. 

Rosemary in December, © Barbara Radisavljevic

Happy Bee Enjoying Rosemary in March, © Barbara Radisavljevic

See some of my other photos of herbs from my garden on these Zazzle products.

 Seven-Spotted Ladybug on Borage Note Card Friendship card: Puzzle: Bee on French Lavender Jigsaw Puzzle Blank Card: Lavender with Santolina Lavender Uses, Otherwise Blank card:

Clary and Tricolor Sage In June

June is When My Clary Sage Shows Off

My clary sage has been budding since May, and on June 1 I noticed it was in bloom again. All my clary sage here started from one plant in a pot. After the rains this year, many baby plants emerged far from the mother plant.  Theones in the photo below appeared in the side flower bed near the street. They are blooming. The clary sage is in the foreground at the center with large leaves and a large flower stalk. A black sage plant is in bloom behind it.

Below is a different view that includes two other plant babies growing in the gazanias. They haven't matured enough to bloom yet.

This is the mother plant, still in its pot, and fully in bloom.

Here are a few more babies growing next to the walkway by the garage. They will be blooming soon. I see a bud. This section of my garden is all volunteer plants. The Lamb's Ears came from a mother plant across the sidewalk and has spread throughout this bed. It is also blooming now. I threw some iris bulbs I didn't have room for in the other flower beds into a cardboard box of shallow dirt in this back corner, and they decided to be happy there and bloom while I was waiting to find another spot for them. The pot contains mostly lemon balm.

Tricolor Sage Blooms Between May and June

I was so busy this year, I almost missed it. That would have been a shame since I can't remember that it ever bloomed for me before, and I've had it for several years. I think it took all the rainfall we had this year to make it bloom. In the collage below, you can see how quickly the plant can bloom and fade.

What is your experience with sage varieties? Do you have a favorite?

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Sages Add Color and Attract Beneficial Insects to Your Garden

I have been growing several varieties of sage for decades now. Sage plants need little care and little water. They are ideal for making a yard attractive after you replace your lawn with drought-resistant plants. Even  when they are not in bloom, their leaves add interest and different shades of color. When they are in bloom you will hear them as you approach, since they will already be covered with bees. Sages add color and attract beneficial insects to your garden. 

Red Cherry Sage in My Neighbor's Garden, © B. Radisavljevic

The first sage I grew was common sage. Unfortunately, I had no idea I was supposed to prune it severely in the spring. It has become an unruly mess now after being left alone for about twenty years. Other than that, it requires little care. It is propagated most easily with root division, which is how I've multiplied my plants. I use root division to propagate all my sage varieties.

The next varieties I added were golden sage and tricolor sage. Unfortunately, the golden sage was planted too close to my tricolor sage and another common sage plant, and when I wasn't paying attention, they swallowed it. So I have no photo of golden sage. Below is a tricolor sage plant I propagated from the mother plant into another herb garden. It is sitting between rosemary on the left and common sage on the right. It was taken toward the end of June.

Tricolor Sage Between Rosemary and Common Sage, © B. Radisavljevic

I then planted a root division in this pot for a place in my Paso Robles garden. I guess I haven't given it enough soil in the pot to supply the nutrients it needs to bloom in this setting, since it has never bloomed here. It is sitting next to a clary sage plant that is blooming. On its left is blooming hyssop. All by itself in back is a mullein which will take a few more months to bloom.

Tricolor and Clary Sage,  © B. Radisavljevic

The next sage I added to my collection was black sage. It was in a small pot when I planted it. Again, I didn't realize at the time that it needed to be cut back every  year. Within a few years it was swallowing everything around it but a butterfly bush and some rosemary. When I wanted to plant a root division in Paso Robles, I knew it would grow fast to fill space in the side yard. I planted it about three years ago and cut it back every year, and this is how it looks now. I want to keep it this size, but I will have to move the irises and daffodils planted around it.

Black Sage, © B. Radisavljevic

Bees and butterflies love black sage and this plant is always buzzing until the sun goes down. The bee is to the left, and the painted lady butterfly is on the right. I also see bumblebees, but I don't like to get too close to them.

Beneficial Insects on Black Sage,  © B. Radisavljevic

After I started improving the flower beds here in 2013, I started trying some new sages. The watermelon sage was one of them. I am pleased with the color it adds to my garden and it doesn't try to take over like the black sage does. It's not in full bloom in these photos.

I should probably either move this Spanish sage away from the jamine that's trying to drown it, or keep the jasmine cut back more. It would probably get more sun in the side yard. I may move it in fall.

Spanish Sage, © B. Radisavljevic

I was not successful with this Victoria Blue Sage. I think it did not get enough sun or something was wrong in the soil. It died within weeks of being planted. I think I also saw a gopher hole about that time nearby.

Victoria Blue Sage, © B. Radisavljevic

I'm  sure I will keep adding more varieties of sage to my garden as I find the room and the time to plant them. Perhaps I will try  some of these I've seen on my walks. The compact Jerusalem sage was found at the Donati Family Tasting Room. The others below were seen in the bed between the sidewalk and the street near a vacant lot on 21st Street as I was leaving Smart and Final.

Which sages have you grown? Which are your favorites?



If you enjoyed this post, please share it. The sharing buttons are just above the comment box at the end of the post. The photo below is especially designed for pinning.

This is my nineteenth post for the 2016 AtoZchallenge, a Blogging Challenge for the month of April, 2016. My theme is plants, since this is a gardening blog. Here are links to the other posts if you missed them.

A is for Apple Blossoms
B is for Bottlebrush
C is for Carnations
D is for Daisy
E is for Elderberry
F is for Flowers
G is for Gazania
Hollyhocks are Edible
Irises Are Garden Survivors
Jupiter's Beard: A Mystery Finally Solved
Kale for Lunch
Lion's Tail - A Perennial Summer Burst of Orange
Miner's Lettuce is Tasty and Free"Naked Ladies" Bloom in August
Oleander through the Year
Plant Pests and their Predators: Aphids and Ladybugs
Quince Fruit from Blossom to Table

Roses Are Not Just Red

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The Growth of Clary Sage

Clary is a Unique Sage in my Garden

Clary sage (Slavia Schlerea) is quite different from the other other sages I grow. I had no idea to expect when I planted it. It's lush flower spikes surprised me. Best known historically as a remedy for getting foreign matter out of one's eyes with its seeds, it also can be used in the kitchen, but is not as versatile there as the other sages are. Pregnant woman should avoid it, and no one should mix it with alcohol.   I only grow clary sage to add beauty to my summer garden. 

Clary Sage Bud, May 25

My Experience with Clary Sage in the Garden

I first planted my clary in a pot in my yard in Templeton. A couple of years ago I brought the pot to our Paso Robles home. It bloomed there last year. Then it appeared to die down and I thought it was gone. I've since learned it can be biennial (blooming the second year and then dying) or perennial. 

After this year's rains, it came back and started to grow again. On May 25, I snapped the photo of its first bud of the season, which you see above.


Within a week, the buds had turned into the flower spikes you see to the right. The plant is still in the original pot. I am hoping it will reseed. It reseeded once three years ago, but the weed abatement man thought it was a weed and dug it up. He tried a day later to pot it, but the roots had been exposed too long to make a recovery.

Clary Sage in Bloom, Early June

Other Sages I Grow

I also grow tricolor sage, to the left in the photo above. I can't recall if I ever saw it bloom. Most sages bloom in June, but so far I've never seen so much as a blossom on this potted plant. I have seen the more established plants in Templeton bloom. I made this greeting card on Zazzle with it pictured in bloom next to common sage. 

Blank Card: Mixed Sages and Rosemary Card
Shop for a greeting card on zazzle.com

It could be the tricolor variety is on a different timetable than other sage varieties, in spite of what the books say. The Missouri Botanical Garden website says tricolor sage should bloom in May or June. The flowers are supposed to be lavender or purple and quite showy. They should be hard to miss. Maybe tricolor sage has different blooming dates in Missouri. 

My common sage, pictured below, has been blooming since at least April in my Templeton herb garden as has been my black sage in both gardens. My watermelon and Spanish sages have also been in bloom since at least May. You can see them, in addition to the black sage, pictured in my post on what blooms at the end of May. 

Common Sage in Neglected Herb Garden, © B. Radisavljevic

Have you ever grown clary sage? If not, would you like to? What is your favorite variety of sage?  Please feel free to leave your feedback in the comment box below the share buttons. 

Related articles

• Sages Add Color and Attract Beneficial Insects to Your Garden

What Blooms in My Paso Robles Garden at the End Of May: Herbs

Herbs are an important part of my garden plan. They feed the bees and butterflies, and they also contribute color to supplement that provided by the flowers. Many of the herbs, including the borage and the hyssop, are pictured mixed with the flowers in my previous post,  What Blooms in My Paso Robles Garden at the End of May: Flowers. Pictured at the left is Spanish sage, surrounded by star jasmine. I planted the Spanish sage last year about this time. 

I divided the santolina you see below from a plant I have in Templeton. I love the yellow color, but the Templeton mother plant sprawls. I had this in a pot, so I moved it pot and all into my flower bed closest to the house, near the back. The gray foliage contrasts well with the green leaves of other plants and the yellow of its own button flowers. 

A plant that was new to me last year was salvia microphylla, also known as wild watermelon sage. It is drought-resistant. I expect it will continue to spread and grow taller, as I intended. I am trying to fill my dry side yard with larger shrubby herbs that will spread to choke out weeds while providing color during every season. Below is my watermelon sage. The blossoms are small, but they do contribute color.

Many sages seem to bloom at this time of year. My common sage is blooming in Templeton, but I haven't planted any of it here in Paso Robles. I did divide my black sage plant there and I planted the division in my side bed here. The mother plant is huge -- about six feet tall and just as wide in all directions. So far it's still small here. I plan to keep it under control. It is not especially colorful with its tiny whorls of pale lavender flowers, but it's always covered with bees when in bloom. See the flowers below.

Black Sage on May 27

I planted the red velvet yarrow below in a pot to keep it from spreading, since I've heard it can be invasive. I think it's outgrowing the pot, though, and it's getting leggy.  I think in fall I will divide it and plant it near the tansy in the front corner of the side yard. It does well under dry conditions. 

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Red Velvet Yarrow in Pot

As I write this, my monarda and clary sage have buds and will soon be in bloom. I will be sharing those photos soon.