They had a correctional facility for young offenders in my electoral area. They had a huge vegetable garden where the young inmates learned raised their own food. Others nearby had dairy cattle, and chickens that produced eggs. It not only taught them a skill or two, they had fresh food, and they had something to pass the day. The social workers decided the poor little dears were being exploited, and the unions for egg workers said they were scab labour. So much for a good idea. And, btw, apparrently daffodils are an narcotic. According to the most recent 'Garden Life' mag, "..the botanical name Narcissus comes from the greek narkao, referring to the narcotic properties of the bulb." Whew!!

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

I'm also in Olympia and agree that most new world sages - the greggii/microphylla/x jamensis family, darcyi, chamaedryoides, etc. plus most Agastaches demand this treatment in the South Sound. I think it's the combination of 50 inches of rain, sudden and severe freezes without the opportunity to gradually harden off like last December, and the missing summer heat that they crave. Nurseries in California and the SW have exaggerated their hardiness but NC growers Tony Avant and Rich Dufresne have over-wintered many of these and have comparable or even lower winter lows. There are exceptions such as guaranitica from South America, which is the #1 choice of the hummers, and a few others. In addition, many European, Middle Eastern and Asian sages are hardy here. I confess to being a full-fledged salvia and fuchsia enthusiast. In the interest of promoting additional conversation now or later, here are most of the ones I'm growing now. These span the range of tropical to marginal to rock hardy. An asterisk indicates especially outstanding garden or container worthiness IMO. My x John Whittlesey, a cross of darcyi and microphylla, is absolutely incredible - I posted a pic of this one recently on the salvia forum. I planted it this year and do not expect it to survive in the ground. I have seeds of many of these. The 2 best autumn sages I have grown are Royal Bumble and Sierra San Antonio. Sorry about the long post, I couldn't resist: Salvia algeriensis Salvia apiana Salvia argentea* Salvia arizonica* Salvia azurea Salvia brevilabra Salvia canariensis var.Candidissima* Salvia canescens var.daghestanica* Salvia castanea Salvia chamaedryoides* SALVIA Chinensis 'Nanjinja' Salvia 'Christine Yeo' Salvia clevelandii Salvia coccinea'Lady in Red'* Salvia corrugata* Salvia cyanescens Salvia darcyi Salvia discolor Salvia dolichantha Salvia dorisiana* Salvia elegans 'Honey Melon'and Tangerine* (Pineapple sage blooms too late, these are the alternatives) Salvia farinacea Salvia flava var.megalantha Salvia forskaehlei Salvia glabrescens 'Shi Ho' Salvia guaranitica* Salvia heldreichiana Salvia hians Salvia jurisicii Salvia koyamae* Salvia lavanduliifolia* Salvia miltiorrhiza* Salvia miniata Salvia moorcroftiana Salvia nemorosa 'Caradonna' Salvia nubicola Salvia nutans Salvia officinalis 'Icterina' Salvia officinalis 'Tricolor' Salvia pachyphylla Salvia patens Salvia pomifera Salvia Purple Majesty* Salvia repens Salvia schlechteri Salvia sclarea Salvia sinaloensis* Salvia stolonifera Salvia taraxacifolia* Salvia transsylvanica* Salvia viscosa* Salvia 'Wendy's Wish'* Salvia x John Whittlesey*

Don't worry, violent weather is rare in the UK...though there was a bad tornado on the South coast at Selsey two years ago. Yes, the flowers of S. praeclara and S. pauciserrata are indeed similar, but the plants are quite different, the latter being much later to flower, and with slightly shiny foliage which does not get mildew. S. haenkei is indeed a very variable species, I have 3 forms, all scarlet. One has very sticky stems, the other does not. The third has gorgeous flowers, but only a few at a time, which have an almost black colouration on the top of the upper lip. S. haenkei has also hybridised with S. orbignaei in Bolivia, giving rise to some superb forms. See the one I named 'Petra' on my site. I have never seen yellow or orange forms...but I would sure love to! Re weather, we are now having Greek warmth and prolonged sunshine. What a strange summer we have had! My thoughts go out to the residents of New Orleans...what a terrible catastrophe for such a beautiful city. Robin.