No Other plant family has that many choices for the beginning High Desert gardener as the salvias. They give color over many months and attract Butterflies and Hummingbirds to the yard. Most of them are robust and easy to grow and are not eaten by deer and rabbit. Salvias are part of the mint family including some 900 species from all over the world. All sages have square stems and two-lipped flowers in colors ranging from white, yellow to salmon, pink to scarlet and pure red to lavender and blue to purple. Many sages have strong aromatic foliage which makes them uninteresting for deer and rabbits to eat. As there are that many varieties, I will be only touching a few of them. These are easy to grow. First and foremost is Salvia greggii - Autumn sage, native to Southern Texas into Northern Mexico. This plant is mostly evergreen and grows 1-4 ft. high and wide and has a long blooming season, from spring to fall and it comes in a wide variety of colors. The most common are the different shades of red but there are also white and yellow. I recently found one in deep purple and I also grow a variegated one. My white one, after 6 years is blooming in the moment in white and red on the same plant that is quite unusual. These plants are very easy to take care off. It is good to cut plants back in late winter before new grows appears to prevent plants from getting woody.

Another Sage, one of my favorite is S. Clevelandii or Cleveland Sage. I love blue flowers. This is another evergreen shrub and gets very large, 5-8 ft. wide. In my yard it blooms all season long and it has the most fragrant foliage. After a summer rain my yard is full from this wonderful odor. Very drought tolerant, it almost dislikes water and after 2 years should not be kept on irrigation. Only in very dry months one deep watering is necessary. It is easy to over water this sage. There is also a miniature variety of this plant available; I grow it in my front yard. It grows to 2-3 Ft. I found it does not bloom as willingly.

Another beautiful and easy to grow blue sage is S. chamaedryoides - Germander Sage. These plants form clumps to 3 ft. wide and high and are evergreens, the foliage is almost silver and the flowers are true blue and it also has a long blooming season. It should be cut down in spring to avoid it going woody. It also is very drought tolerant but does better with some irrigation.

Another blue sage I want to mention is S. farinacea - Mealy cup Sage. In higher locations it might not be fully hardy but as it self seeds quite readily it is worth growing.

The last blue sage I am going to write about is S. Pitcheri - Pitcher Sage. It forms a bush to 3 ft. wide and high with absolutely lovely blue flowers. Unfortunately it is not that easy to get. It dies to the ground in winter and comes back in spring. Being drought tolerant it does not like wet winters. S. elegans - Pineapple Sage, a deciduous perennial is a must for Hummingbirds. The flowers are scarlet red and the plant grows to 4 ft. in one season. Blooming time is late summer and the plant does better with some afternoon shade and likes a bit more water. Keep in mind whenyou plant it that it will freeze to the ground. The foliage is very aromatic and makes a good tea.

S. leucantha - Mexican Bush Sage, another beautiful sage which grows quite large, up to 6 ft, wide and 3 ft. high. The leaves are velvety green and the flowers are purple and appear in late summer. Here it will freeze to the ground.

S. nemorosa, a small perennial from Eastern Europe grows to 1 ft. tall. It forms a tight rosette with erect flowers talks. Flowers are violet to purple. S. leucophylla - Purple Sage - Gray Sage is a tall evergreen shrub. Very drought tolerant

S. mycrophylla, another evergreen shrub found native from Southeastern Arizona through Southern Mexico. This is the one found in most nurseries in a variety of colors. "Maraschino" is a hybrid form with beautiful red flowers.

Most Salvia need full sun, only a few like some afternoon shade. They need good air circulation and good drainage and dry conditions in winter. The drought tolerant Salvias require deep watering in the dry season. Most do not like severe pruning in the growing season. Heavy pruning is best done in the dormant state.