Good morning all, Happy Autumn to everyone! Can you even believe it? Seems like yesterday it was spring and we were all planning all the summer festivities and here it is another summer gone. As Im looking out at the September gardens here I have to thank all my Idyll and Garden friends whove given me so much information and inspiration over the last four years. There never used to be this much interest in the fall gardens. Ive learned so much here not to mention making friends for life. One of my lifes many blessings. So speaking of friends, I so wish you all could have been here for the afternoon yesterday. We started in a bit of a rush because Dougs cars battery died at the grocery store and he was stuck there for the longest time and got home barely in time to mow the lawn. I was running late because he was running late and anyway I was just finishing getting my hair put up when Chelone arrived. Normally Id be in a froth to be running that late but, no worries, these friends just are so laid back and mellow, no problems. Everyone arrived within twenty minutes of each other and Les and Monique brought up my bargain urn which took several of us to decant from Les minivan. Here is a pic I love the egg and dart detailing around the rim. What a buy, $50. for this because the corner is broken off. Detailing on the sides Anyway, originally I was going to put this in the way back on a rock I have back there but Im thinking I want to keep this in the front of the house as its such a beautiful piece. After we got the urn out of the car we had a lovely, leisurely tour of the gardens. As Ive said before and Ill say again, there is nothing as enjoyable as sharing the gardens with other gardeners. The high points were the Charles Grimaldi and all the lovely fuchsias are putting on quite a show at the moment. I was able to get some ideas for the new shrub border and show everyone the new pieced, rock mowing strip I put in a month ago. While we were doing the garden touring Doug was making salad and opened some wine then caught up with us outside and brought us a beverage of choice. What a peach! After the tour we settled in on the patio for our al fresco dining event. We started with Dougs famous smoked salmon served with the diners choice of pickled ginger, sour cream with dill, capers or hot pepper jelly as a garnish. I dont know how he does it but it is seriously the best salmon Ive ever eaten. Saucy brought a lovely home made bean dip, and a brillian bruschetta, Yum, yum! Wendy made her splendid spinach/feta/lemon dip. (Recipes please ladies) and Les made his gustatory delight guacamole. So who needed dinner after those appetizers? Well, we persevered, took a short breather and did justice to the main course of a crisp, tossed salad, Chelone brought fresh tomato/basil/mozzarella salad, Doug prepared grilled, marinated zucchini and the piece de resistance supplied by Sue/Tom/Monique and Les, gigantic prawns, marinated in garlic, cilantro grilled to perfection. Monique took some pics of these brilliant edibles from the sea and I hope she shares them with you all today. They looked like little lobster tails on the platter. What a superb meal! Whoops, almost forgot the corn on the cob but maybe I was trying to because Im now the laughing stock of the group because I eat my corn one row at a time. So maybe Im a bit OCD. LOL After another breather to make room (yes indeed there were home made desserts as well) we had Moniques magnificent apple cake with warmed caramel/pecan sauce and Wendys wonderful chocolate org - sm. (She assures us that really is the name of this decadent dessert.) Ahhhhh.. I dont think I need to eat for at least two days now. LOL As I said hopefully Monique will post pics of the food selections. (However, she really could avoid posting that unfortunate photograph of me and Doug with our faces pressed into the screen door. ) OK Ill post this then read the Idylls as there are lots of comments I want to make. Deanne

Salvia 'Blue Chiquita' (Blue Chiquita Sage) SunZone: 8-9, at least 44" tall Origin: Mexico: http://www.plantdelights.com/Catalog/Current/Detail/04253.html Salvia darcyi is bright red and 48 inches tall: http://www.plantdelights.com/Catalog/Current/Detail/00814.html Salvia greggi Dark Dancer is 48 inches tall and a gorgeous dark red: http://www.plantdelights.com/Catalog/Current/Detail/02636.html Salvia guaranitica 'Black and Blue' is a favorite of mine. The hummingbirds love it too. It's 36 inches tall: http://www.plantdelights.com/Catalog/Current/Detail/02016.html And for really tall, at 84 inches tall, you might like Salvia 'Phyllis Fancy:' http://www.plantdelights.com/Catalog/Current/Detail/06157.html Here is a link that might be useful: Salvias

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.

Hi Michelle Sorry for the delay in responding - just got back from holiday in Turkey. As I feared, there had been a few frosts during my absence but damage to my Salvias has been limited to a minimal number of plants and the garden is still looking pretty good. This is in contrast to a garden about 2 miles away (a pub garden where I also plant lots of Salvias) where just about everything has been blackened. It just goes to show what differences there can be in mesoclimates. Even within my own garden which has the advantage of being on a slight slope, there are microclimates where the flow of cold air is restricted and a specific Salvia can be badly frosted whereas equivalent plants, only a few yards away, can completely escape damage. My soil has a large proportion of clay but, over the 25 or so years I have been here, I have mulched with various products such as mushroom compost and composted manure to help build up a top layer of better tilth. I root lots of cuttings and the old soil from all the pots also gets thrown onto the garden. Surprising how this all adds up to improve the soil. Most years, in early summer, I try to give the garden a 2" mulch of some sort to help keep it in good heart. I know many Salvias don't need this but I plant very closely and the mulch helps with moisture retention and weed supression. If I go back 10 years or more, I always got a hard frost about mid-September which knocked off my Salvias (except most microphylla types). Since then, although the thermometer always dips around this time, temperatures are not so low and then we seem to then often survive for at least another month. Last year was even better and the Salvias were not really hit until early December when we became blanketed by snow. Ignoring any general global warming trend, I read that we may now be moving into a short term cooler period (there seems to be a cycle of about 25 years or so between highs and lows) and so I may have to get used to September frosts once again. Of course, by then, I may be just pushing up daisies and not bothering with Salvias. Naturally you are most welcome to visit although from the above you can guess that timing can be crucial if you want to see the display at its best. You must also take in Robin's garden as he always has gems that we others drool over. I'm thinking about your request of naming the plants in my pics. It's a bit of a task but probably worth the effort. Give me some time on this. Finally, I was pleased to see Robin include Salvia 'Imelda' on his site. This was a seedling I found near S. greggii 'Peach' in late 2008 and which flowered for me in 2009. I named it after my wife's middle name. It is proving to be much sturdier than Peach - which I love but seem to lose after a couple years or so. Here is a pic of the very first flower of Imelda: Jim