Salvias come in an enormous range of colours and sizes - there are over 900 species - and are found all over the world. They’re one of the most hard-working flowers you’ll find, producing blooms from early summer right into early winter. This variety is known as ‘blue butterflies’, because its flowers look like little butterflies. Handily, they’re also very attractive to butterflies and bees.
Salvias can live happily in almost any outdoor space, as long as it’s not shady. They don’t mind a stiff breeze, so they’re good for balconies. They thrive in dry conditions, so they don’t need much watering and will be really happy in full sun. There’s really not a lot of attention they need.
Once your plant has finished flowering, hopefully as late as the beginning of December, it will die back a little. Prune it back almost to the soil in early spring. This will encourage it to add lots of new growth, then lots of new flowers, as the weather warms up.
Did you know?
The best-known variety of salvia is edible sage, the kind you find in supermarkets and add to stuffing.