I have sad news about the Russian sage--I waited until tonight to dig them. They were each several inches away from the mother plant so I thought that they were seedlings. When I dug them they came out and it looked like they were actually sent out from the main plant. the one really had no roots and the other one had a few hairy type roots. I potted it up and it will probably get some good roots in a few weeks, but right now it looks really sad and droopy. I wouldn't feel good about trading it, so Signet, your Minnie Klopping hosta and Bev, your achillea cassis will have to either stay home or you can look to see if there is anything else that you would take for them. Please let me know if you see anything. I am sorry about this! :( gg

I love blue salvia and I use it a lot, and it often comes back the next year (behaves as a perennial). So you want a low-growing, non-invasive, non-yellow or red perennial to go in front of your salvias? Sweet alyssum, although it is technically an annual, very often reseeds itself. I'd use white, although it comes in pink too. My blue salvias (usually Victoria Blue) grow more like 2 feet tall. I use daylilies, which are very well-behaved and come in a large variety of colors -- you could find some of the shorter varieties, and they would also work behind or among your salvia. There are pretty artemisias that are low-growing with silvery foliage. If you want to do herbs, you might think about lavender -- some of them have silver or white flowers rather than the traditional lavender color, and the foliage is usually a silvery blue color. Other silvery herbs would be curry plant or one of the many other sages (of course relatives of your salvia). You might consider ajuga, which is a low-growing ground-cover with bronzey-green foliage and pretty blue blooms. I don't know where in Maryland you live, but I lived on the Eastern Shore for many years and have grown all of the above successfully. I'm not a big white coneflower fan -- the ones I've seen have not been a clear white but sort of a muddy color. Another annual that often behaves as a perennial in our area is snapdragon. They are very easy, not demanding or invasive, and come in just about every color you can imagine. Many varieties of varying heights. I have some really pretty pink ones that are only about 8" high, and they overwintered from last year and are now in full bloom. The great thing about blue salvia is that they look good with almost anything you can think of, since their color is a pure blue -- not purplish.

I work in area public parks and one local school on non-profit basis and we have several perennial Red (Texas Red) plants - to trade Am looking for any perennial salvia plants or any beardless irises or any type day lily to put in the parks. (also have alot of Red Spider lily bulbs (lycoris Radiata) and medium purple La irises to trade. Thanks Jamews Shreveport Z8 www.gardenweb.com/members/exch/mmpquince

Sounds as though the salvia you like so much is S patens. I don't know of anything else near the same colour which will be perennial with you. However, S patens is not annual, though it can be grown as such - ask your friend for some seed! Your best bet is to grow it in a pot. At the end of the season, cut it down and stow the pot somewhere frost-free - doesn't matter if it's dark as the plant is completely dormant. Water it hardly at all - just enough to stop the pot drying out completely. Keep a close eye on it after Jan as you need to catch it as soon as it shows any sign of life, bring it into the warm and water it. If it's still too cold to put it outside, use a halfway house like a porch or car-port. (Obviously it's a good idea to have it somewhere not too warm over winter, to discourage it from starting too soon). Don't worry if it doesn't surface till much later - mine sometimes sulk till May if we have a cold spring! You can keep it tidy by judicious pinching back, but it's best to renew plants every few years. If you put it in the ground, you can dig it up well before the first frosts, shake or gently rub most of the soil off and wrap the tubers in newspaper, then proceed as for a potted plant - the tubers shouldn't be allowed to desiccate completely, but don't keep them too moist or they'll rot - a fine line! This is usually less successful than in a pot, but if you have several plants, some should make it - and you can do cuttings in spring.