I have Rose Queen, May Night, and what I think is Blue Hill. Neither of the blues flops much, but the Rose Queen is a MAJOR flopper. I think the Blue Hill has the most upright habit, and is a nice color. I do also like May Night a lot. But I wouldn't buy Rose Queen again. Note that the Bluestone catalog warns about all the perennial salvia that too little sun or too rich soil can cause flop.

Hi there - I have the following pink and salvia flowers: Agastache - pink/apricot and fragrant Cleome Pink cleome spinosa mix cherry/pink and white queen Cosmos (?) Darker Pink 3' tall Cosmos (?) Light Pink 3' tall Lupine, pink and white bi color Lychnis chalcedonica Maltese Cross Lychnis Coronaria Rose Campion Malva Zebrina Malvacea Moschata Pink Mallow Pink mystery flower but pretty Pink Aster-like Salmon Peony Salvia Pink Salvia Purple Salvia unknown blue, looks like Rhea scabiosa pink mist Zinnia Candy Cane Mix Zinnia fuschia tall Zinnia pink PLMK - Deb (austinnhanasmom)

I know Salvia farinacea, Victoria would not be hardy for you, but it's hard to beat for easy, long blooming gorgeous blue flowering. I buy them in six packs as early in the spring as they are available and immediately pot them up into gallon pots. Water, fertilize (move them inside if a late HARD freeze is predicted), and by the time I'm ready for them to go into the ground replacing pansies, they are full sized and blooming, never to quit until fall freeze. Also, Mystic Spires salvia is WONDERFUL if you want something a bit larger (2 to 3 feet). It's a hybrid between farinacea and Indigo spires with the best characteristics of both for my money.

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*