I have the bog sage in the moist area at the bottom of my sunny slope...with a B&B just up behind it, too! I have an 'Adonis Blue' buddleia, agastache 'Blue Fortune', blue penstemon, caryopteris and amsonia for the blues on the slope, too. I have some yellow snaps and coreopsis for some contrast. I'm still working on the moist area, but have some blue nepeta subssellis at the feet of the bog salvia. When we have rain, the moist area is a rain garden and it drains slowly down to the drystream bed. The runners are very easy to pull. I have lots of space in the moist area, so I'll just keep it off the dry slope.

I love Salvias, but they don't love me for the most part. I have clay soil that is not that heavy but they still prefer a light well drained soil. I did prepare a section of one bed with a layer of gravel on a slight slope and found some salvia did fairly well there. BUT, as others have said, my favorites are those that are not hardy here. I have tried a few a number of times and they never winter over. 'Ultra Violet' and 'Black and Blue' did not perform well for me and did not return after their first winter. I do have Salvia 'Wild Thing' too, but this is only it's second year and I will have to see how it does. I have had 'Rose Queen' for years, and last year I had moved it to more sun and it surprised me how much I enjoyed it. I plan on dividing it for more this year. I grow 'Purple Rain' and it is a very long bloomer and reliable to come back every year. Love Piet Oudolf, he is my favorite designer too. I'm in love with meadows. The Lurie Gardens in Chicago ... have only enjoyed photos, haven't gotten there yet.

naplesgardener, it was such a hot day, we didn't go much farther than the greenhouse, where there was shade and a FAN. There may be a pond elsewhere, though I've never seen one at Biosphere before. I'll be sure to check next time, though. Maybe it's new. This was the first time I had seen the greenhouse, and he's had it up at least a year or so. Cindee, I didn't stop to smell the passie, sorry. I just think the girl told me it was Incense, and it looked like I remember the photos looking. They had a good supply of healthy looking passionvines in a LOT of different varieties. I would love to pick up a few more. My Lady Margaret is doing very well, btw. Glad y'all enjoyed the photos. Marcia

Thanks to the $2 sale at Mountain Valley Growers (which has been extended, btw!) and a very nice GW trader, I have added some salvias, bringing my total to about 45 varieties. I think I have officially run out of space in my garden! LOL Salvia lavandulifolia (Spanish Sage) Salvia greggii x lemmonii (Raspberry Royal) Salvia grahammii (Maraschino Cherry Salvia) Salvia canariensis (Canary Island Sage) Salvia brandegii (Island Black Sage) Salvia aurea (24kt Gold Sage) Salvia greggii cv. (Variegated Autumn Sage) Salvia microphylla (Wild Watermelon) Salvia sclarea (Clary Sage) Salvia buchanni (Velvet Sage) Salvia muelleri (Royal Purple Sage) Salvia uliginosa (Bog Sage) Salvia fruticosa (Greek Sage) Salvia mellifera (Black Sage) Salvia discolor (Andean Silver Leaf) Salvia melissodora (Grape Scented Sage) Salvia involucrata Salvia darcyi Salvia madrensis