OH MY GOSH!!! That second picture is just wonderful! I love the misty background. The blue and the pinks go so great together. Very striking! I love blue flowers too and that one really is true blue.

Thank you for sharing from your wonderful gardens once again.

FlowerLady

It was foggy today, so I thought it would make a nice backdrop.

Oh, GG, that is stunning!
I have some seeds I got in a trade, but hadn't planted them yet. Hope they are still viable. I love the second photo with the fog.
I have a native Blue Salvia in my Okla. Wildflower garden that I dug up in a meadow about 2 miles north of here. It is smaller, has smaller flowers and they are blue, like the lightest color of your Salvia uliginosa, but the plant and leaves look exactly the same. It is growing amongst Indian Blanket Flower (Mexican Firewheel), Black-eyed Susans, Pale (purple) Coneflower, purple Sand Verbena, Orange Butterfly Weed, a pinkish Prairie Gentian, Yellow Prairie Gaillardia and soft prairie grasses, just as I found it growing in that meadow.
It likes growing in dry, well-drained areas best.

I happen to think that Salvias and Cosmos are the two best garden flowers one can plant. Easy to grow, no-fuss plants that produce tons of color all season long. They attract pollinators of all kinds, including little children's button noses.

Thanks for sharing.
~ Annie

Simply gorgeous. I need more salvias. The best are these that bloom in fall.

Of course I would plant bog sage with something orange. Or something yellow.

Or plant all the sages together? Blue, and Purple, and red Pineapple sage which is just now setting buds here.

Nell

I have it, too. You only need ONE plant and you'll have all you need forever after (here in my zone 7).

Every evening, I think "I need to deadhead it because the blooms are spent", but then every morning it's full of sky blue blooms. Mine is a lighter blue with white and my leaves look different. I'll try to track down some photos. It has been a busy gardening-related weekend!

Cameron

Planted mine last year, so I'm still working with finding the best look. I'm working on building an area of soft apricot/soft gold (cestrum 'Orange Peel' and agastache 'Coronado') with the ulignosa next to it. Right now, mine is with coneflowers and salvia 'black & blue'. I pulled out the agastache 'blue fortune' as it looked so dirty in comparison to the salvias.

I am able to grow some zone 6 plants, such as crocosmia. I love both the blue salvias you two have shown. I have lots of yellow right now in my yellow with blues and purples area. I'll have to see if I can find that. I just bought a Purple Rain Saliva that I haven't planted yet. I would like to plant more blues. My others are finished for the season.

Thanks for the pics, and ideas for planting.

Sue

Such a beautiful combo - I love it, but sadly, I'd really be pushing it here!!

Thanks for sharing. Nancy.

Salvias still going strong *, + finishing up, or starting again ** here:

* Salvia, Lady in Red - (non-stop bloomer)
* Salvia, Black and Blue (non-stop bloomer)
* Salvia, Blue Bedder (Mealycup Sage)- (non-stop bloomer)
** Blue Sage (Salvia azurea) (wild Okla. Salvia)
* Salvia greggii (Autumn sage - deep pink)
+ Yvonne's red Salvia (3-5 ft tall Bedding-type sage)
* Salvia, Coral Nymph
* Salvia, Snow Nymph
+ Silver Sage or Silver Clary Sage (mauve-pink blooms)
* Scarlet Sage (Salvia splendens - wildflower)
* Salvia, Victoria (deep & medium blue flowers)
** May Night Sage (Salvia x superba)(dark Violet-blue)
** Rose Queen Sage (Salvia x superba)(rose-pink flowers)

I hope to get some Greek Sage (Salvia fructicosa)growing this fall for next year. It is the spice culinary sage with apricot-white flowers.

Love salvias too. I recently got salvia greggii "Theresa" which is a pale pink and white. I don't have the "uliginosa" but it sure isn't ugly. I'll have to see if I can find that for my growing collection.

Last month I was lucky enough to attend a talk by Richard Dufresne on salvias. He is also active on the salvia forum and is recognized as one of the leading authorities on the subject. I had never realized what a large and diverse group of plants salvias are! I was able to buy Salvia mexicana 'Tula' and Salvia guaranitica 'Blue Enigma' which are both deep blue. Mine are just little things now but they're supposed to get tall.

gottagarden, that's a great combo with the cosmos. It's hard to get too much true blue in the garden, especially this time of year.

Now you're making me wonder if it really is 'uliginosa'. I've lost the tag, and mine always seems darker than any others I've seen in garden centers. Hmmm, what could it be then?

I wonder if you have pitcher sage?

Uliginosa likes bogs (aka bog salvia). Mine is growing in my rain garden and it stays wet most of the winter. It sends out runners for 3 feet in each direction each spring. Easily pulled and transplanted, so I'm happy about it.

Hello,

I'm also zone 5 but in Indiana. I had Uliginosa for about 5 years with it's natural root spreading tendencies. In spring 2007 we had a late frost after an early spring and I lost it. (All the area orchards lost a year's apple crop) I miss it terribly. I think it generally makes it it zone 5.

Chris

OK - my plant has not spread at all by runners, it is still a small clump after 3 years. Also, it's in a dry part of the garden, not boggy at all.

Thanks Cameron, your knowledge is impeccable. After looking online at pitcher sage, salvia azurea, I think that's what it really is. And the name rings a bell. Azurea is hardy to zone 5, and I think my uliginosa must have frozen out one winter.

What a bad title for this posting!

OK - Since it's zone 5, why don't more people grow this salvia azurea?

Darn, I was getting all excited and ready to give it a try. I have lusted after salvia uliginosa for years but knew it wouldn't survive here in z5. I guess until I move away from zone 5, I will have to be content with just pictures.
The salvia you do have though is lovely gottagarden. I love it with the cosmos.

Hi Brenda,
I grow it! But I think you might of guessed that : )
I have 2 versions. One is more of an overall blue flower and is a bit deeper in color looking like yours.
One has more of a larger white spot in the throat and is a shade lighter. Here's that one.

Oops I forgot to say mine are versions of Salvia azurea!
Remy

Brenda -- I want what you're growing! LOL The colors are so fantastic. Darn, I just bought MORE salvias yesterday, but I skipped that one. Actually, I skipped it because the planting instructions sounded better to wait until spring. My bog salvia is such a solid performer, but the sky blue colors are difficult in my garden in summer/fall. In spring, it's fine. I'm working on the soft apricots. Diane at Diane's Seeds gave me some pale yellow cosmos. I like your combo...but, I'm concerned the deer will like the cosmos.

I've read that "Bog sage" really doesn't like to sit in water.
Too much information!
It will "bog" your mind!!!

Below is the LINK to my Salvia photo site. You can see by the dates on the photos what salvias will still be blooming in September thru October every year here where I live.

Well....Whatever that blue sage is GG, it is downright gorgeous! And your gardens are beyond description LOVELY!

I AM JUST PLUM ENVIOUS of your gardening abilities and landscape artist's eye for layout and color! That's the plain truth. I wish I had half of yours.
Fabulous color combinations, plant variations, textures and designs.
And your deep, fertile soil....man!

Annie

Here is a link that might be useful: Annie's Salvia photos

Hey Annie, I would love to see your photos, but they are in a password protected folder. I do love salvias, though, and have several kinds. This is my only true blue.

Remy, love that salvia as well. You always have the best!

Ooops!
Sorry.
Try this:

Here is a link that might be useful: Annie's salvia - Try this one.

gottagarden - too pretty for words. Thanks for sharing. I must jot down the names of these salvias. And, remy - yours with the white is wonderful.

Annie, I wasn't able to see either link. I have a Photobucket account, and tried to use my password, but it said it was incorrect, so yours must be what it will take.

I enjoyed looking at the ones here again. What pretty blues!

Sue

Sorry about that!

Password:

annieted

All of the pictures are beautiful... I am jealous.

I also want some pink cosmos now!

I have been planning on adding more salvia's but there are so many types. I also think one might look good near my bleeding hearts for when their flowers fall off.

Nice pics everyone!
Karen

I have it too but mine is salvia azurea.

Pretty photos!

I grow mine in several locations. Please don't tell my salvia that it doesn't like to sit in water! :-) It survived last year's drought just fine. I think it's just a tough plant and can take a variety of conditions.

It's so much fun looking at these pretty pics again while on the search for new ones. Annie, on my second try with your password, I was able to view your slideshow. I'm glad I persevered! What pretty blooms!

I've grown some of the annual kinds I've seen here before, but don't remember their names. I also have some May Nights that I've had for awhile.

Sue