Genus: Salvia

Common Names: sage (now includes rosemary as well)

Description coming soon.

Distribution: widespread

Salvia apiana

Common name(s): white sage, sacred sage

Description: evergreen shrub; a California & Mexico native that was traditionally used as food by the Cahuilla and Chumash peoples and used both ceremonially and medicinally in other indigenous cultures. A popular herb for smudging and cleansing spaces. Blooms long spires of white flowers in summer and is famously known as a bee plant, though it attracts hummingbirds as well. Leaves are very pleasantly aromatic.

Height: to 18 in. Spread: to 2 ft.

Position: full sun and well-draining soil

Uses: medicine, culinary- savory dishes, stuffing, herbal tea

Salvia clevelandii 'Alpine'

Common name(s): musk sage, alpine cleveland sage

Description: an exceptionally cold hardy cultivar that was collected near the town of Alpine in San Diego County. Marvelous  blue flower whorls in spring and summer. Performs best in lean soil with little to no supplemental water. Very popular with swallowtail butterflies!

Height: to 3 ft. Spread: to 3 ft.

Salvia elegans

Common name(s): pineapple sage

Description: perennial; native to Mexico. Leaves possess a powerful pineapple aroma and make for a pleasant addition to fruit salads and iced teas. Long-blooming scarlet red flower spikes in summer keep the hummingbirds coming back for more.

Height: to 5 ft. Spread: to 4 ft.

Salvia elegans 'Tangerine'

Common name(s): tangerine sage

Description: perennial; a cultivar with darker red flowers, and shrubbier, lower growth than the common form of S. elegans (pineapple sage). Aromatic leaves release a powerful fruity aroma when bruised and make for a pleasant addition to fruit salads and iced teas. Long-blooming scarlet red flower spikes in summer keep the hummingbirds coming back for more.

Height: to 18 in. Spread: to 3 ft.

Salvia greggii 'Alba'

Common name(s): white autumn sage, hardy white salvia

Description: hardy perennial, a reliable selection of the high altitude Texas sage with pure white flowers that bloom without pause from summer until the first hard frost. Tidy, compact growth and pleasantly aromatic foliage. 

Height: to 2 ft. Spread: to 2 ft.