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Two seasons of silver sage

comments (2) June 11th, 2010 in blogs

Michelle Gervais, Associate Editor

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Photo: Michelle Gervais

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Silver sage, a biennial (Salvia argentea, USDA Hardiness Zones 5-8), is most commonly photographed in its first season, when it flaunts beefy, extravagantly silvery and fuzzy leaves in a low rosette. It's a perfect foil for finer textures and shines at the edges of garden beds. But in its second year, it sends up flashy, exuberant clouds of bright-white flowers that are a good enough reason alone to grow this plant. Silver sage prefers full sun to dappled shade and moist, well-drained soil. For best results, plant a few every year, though you may be able to ekk another year out of your plants by deadheading them promptly. (flower photo taken in the garden of Laura Livengood Schaub in San Jose, California)

Welcome to the Fine Gardening Garden Photo of the Day blog! Every weekday we post a new photo of a great garden, a spectacular plant, a stunning plant combination, or any number of other subjects. Think of it as your morning jolt of green.

Sign up to get new posts delivered to your inbox each morning so you'll always remember to take a look, or add us to your RSS feed. We look forward to sharing our garden travels with you.

If you think you have a photo that we should share on the Garden Photo of the day, email us. Send hi-res images to mgervais@taunton.com with GPOD in the subject line. We'll only respond if we plan to use your photo.

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No flowers for me, thanks.

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Borage isn't boring!

Comments (2)

crazeknot writes: I've grown silver sage & my leaves aren't big at all!!! About half the size in photo. Posted: 10:56 pm on July 20th

InterLeafer writes: My silver sage is famous! Those big flower clusters don't last very long, either...less than a week after that picture was taken they were done. They are also quite heavy, and appreciate some staking to keep them from keeling over... Posted: 1:49 pm on June 11th

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Welcome to the Fine Gardening GARDEN PHOTO OF THE DAY blog!

Every weekday we post a new photo of a great garden, a spectacular plant, a stunning plant combination, or any number of other subjects. Think of it as your morning jolt of green.

Sign up to get new posts delivered to your inbox each morning so you'll always remember to take a look, or subscribe to our RSS feed. We look forward to sharing our garden travels with you.

If you think you have a photo that we should share on the Garden Photo of the day, email us. Send hi-res images to mgervais@taunton.com with GPOD in the subject line. We'll only respond if we plan to use your photo.