Not looking for a third color this time, but I did consider doing a blue with a lighter blue, then plant an initial (letter B for the name of my schoolhouse)in a white; but maybe next year. Yes, Dusty Miller is good, I tried that by planting blue salvia then bordering it with Dusty Miller one season; but, the salvia grew taller and over the DM. The bed is a crescent shape with a boxwood hedge (kept clipped 8") around it. So height is the main concern when choosing the annual(s) to fill it. The lobelia was the perfect height, but not the perfect plant for the area. Last year I tried putting purple salvia in the center and blue ageratum as the border. The ageratum got more foliage than bloom for some reason, got tall, and then ragged looking quickly, even tho I pinched back frequently.

I have started Angelonia from seed that was saved from the plant - quite succesfully. Last year was the first year that I saved seed from both white and purple plants. I get a lot of white, purple and some pink. I had no pink plants that I havested seed from so apparently they do not always come true to color but the white ones I harvested did produce white seedlings. You need to let the seed mature on the plant and you'll find the best ones toward the bottom of the flower stalk. I waited until end of Sept/Oct to harvest and just placed them in an envelope for the winter. I started them around the beginning of March - 10 weeks before frost. I have also harvested blue victoria seeds and they are super easy to harvest hundreds of seed that are in flower stalks. I usually just cut off the stalks and store in envelopes for the winter and then use a little strainer and put the dried flower stalks in and sift out the seeds. I start those about 12 weeks before frost Definely try the Angelonia seeds - I'm going to try to harvest even more this year because they are great plants.

Gayle, are you somewhere in Southeastern Virginia, near Richmond or Hampton Roads? What is your soil type, and did you fertilize or work in humus in some form, or use some kind of humus-generating mulch like hardwood bark? Also, what is your exposure to sun and wind? If they lasted 3 to 5 years, they count as hardy. To keep some perennials going, they need to be divided and replanted. As the plant grows, it adds fresh layers of active tissue, with older, inactive tissue in its core. After a while, the accumulation of dead tissue becomes a breeding ground for pathogens and the vascular system has a much harder time connecting the roots to the leaves. The roots also have to travel further to find essential nutrients. This is the natural process, and Salvias overcome this by growing stolons or by having low, long branches layer themselves in new locations. It's the interaction of this maturation process with your microclimate and environment that needs attention.

I have several blue salvias, adding Salvia azurea this year (it's the currently accepted name for the plant that has been called by different names in this discussion -- Salvia pitchardi, Salvia pitcheri, Pitchers blue sage, etc. -- and is pictured just above). To my eye, Salvia azurea has just a hint of a warm hue that isn't blue. It's also closer to a sky blue, as the accepted name 'azurea' hints at: 'azure' = 'a color that is commonly compared to the color of the sky on a clear summer's day'. The winner in my garden for the most intense and pure blue Salvia is S. macrophylla x sagittata 'Big Swing', which I ordered from Rich at http://www.worldofsalvias.com. In addition to being a more pure blue color, it's a much more richly saturated blue than Salvia azurea. Garden visitors, in fact, are mesmerized by the purity of the blue that 'Big Swing' displays in its flowers, followed by the question, "where can I get that?" I highly recommend ordering from http://www.worldofsalvias.com. Here is a link that might be useful: A World of Salvias