A Sage Tale

Sages for the Ages
As far as I can tell, there are two kind of sages (salvias)- ornamental and culinary. Culinary sage has broader, thicker, crinkly leaves in comparison to ornamental sages, but it is pretty in its own right when it sends up its bluish-purple flower spike (the flowers are pretty enough for the table). Culinary sage is often used in poultry seasoning mixes and Italian dishes (I make a wicked good sage, chickpea and tomato soup). I grows almost like a weed, though can become woody over the years.

Ornamental sages are not edible and do not taste good- to humans. But their flowers produce nectar that attracts hummingbirds. I have many ornamental sages right outside my front door and have frequent hummingbird sightings in season (April 15 to beginning of October) as a result. Ornamental sages are hardy in this area, though they do get woody after a few years and need trimming to get vigorous growth and sometimes need to be replaced. They are relatively care-free in my zone: no pests or diseases (so far) seem to bother them. They are also relatively easy to propagate from cuttings. I cut an 8 inch stem and strip the leaves off the bottom half. I wrap it in a damp paper towel, place it in a glass and put it on a windowsill. I make sure the paper stays moist and I usually have a rooted cutting in 2-3 weeks.

I have two favorite ornamental sages- pineapple sage and autumn sage, pictured above, but I have also grown a lovely sage, "Black and Blue", as an annual, and other "experimental" pink and yellow sages, as annuals, that I purchased at botanical garden sales.

Happy gardening!

Pineapple sage

Pineapple Sage

I had an acquaintance in college nicknamed "Bunny" Rosen (her real name was Bernice, her last name was not really Rosen). Now Bunny was a perfectly nice person (and we can overlook the anti-feminist implications of her name)…and a party girl. Bunny loved music, but had a real problem with discrimination, that is, evaluating and judging music. Hence, every piece of music was her “favorite.” “That’s my favorite song” she would say to Tom Petty’s “Refugee.” “That’s my favorite song” she would shout to a Michael Jackson tune. “Favorite song” to “Desperado…,” to Helen Reddy’s “I am Woman,” to the Beatles “Yellow Submarine.” So, occasionally we would play a trick on Bunny, just to hear her shout “That's my favorite song” to any of Alvin and The Chipmunks oeuvre or to Captain and Tennille’s “Muskrat Love.” Never failed...

I am writing today to confess: I am Bunny Rosen. I am the Bunny Rosen of plants. I have rarely met a plant I did not like (aside from the obvious weeds and poison ivy, though I only get a mild rash from the latter). OK, Mahonia (Oregon grape) is not a favorite, but it can work in the right place. Boxwood? Sorry about the “very Richmond” sacrilege here, but I am not over fond of boxwood, but, again, it can look good in the right place. Roses? Pretty, but too fussy for me. That’s about it- a mild negativity toward a few plants, but not much.

So, in an act of Bunny Rosenhood, I am writing an entry on a second "ornamental of the year!" I recently wrote about African Blue Basil and this is about another herb- a salvia (I loooove that plant!), Pineapple Sage. It is a perennial to zone 8 (not here) but I am going to root some cuttings to overwinter in my house (along with a lot of other cuttings and 4 large banana plants). You do have to wait a long time for the bright red, gorgeous flowers, but it blooms at the end of September when many plants are done blooming in the VA garden. It has a heady pineapple scent and attracts and feeds those ruby-throated hummingbirds who are on their migratory way down south just as it blooms. It can grow to be a large plant, a few feet tall in one season, and is stunning, in a small-flower way.

This story reminds me of a preference I have for the ephemeral. In this day and age, of the instant gratification of fast food, out-of-season produce available year round and ordering anything off the internet to be delivered overnight, I prefer seasonality and sometimes just having to wait (not that all aspects of instant gratification are bad, it is just a matter, to me, of balance). I like it that peaches are only good in the summer, that watermelon is not on the Thanksgiving menu, and that those first spring greens are a March epiphany. I like that my flowers come and go and sometimes last only one day…and I like catching and appreciating them during that short window. Reminds me to live…..

Happy gardening!

PS This week’s photos are by my son who has a science blog at:

www.dtvons.blogspot.com