Posts Tagged ‘garden flowers’

This month my Garden Flowers post, which I write with Rona Wheeldon of Flowerona, features Salvia involucrata. It’s a wonderful tall herbaceous perennial that has vibrant pink flowers which appear in the summer and continue well into the autumn.

The pictures here were taken by me at RHS Garden Wisley just two weeks ago. The flowers really stood out at a time when most of the other plants were dying back for the winter.

With an ultimate height and spread of 1-1.5 metres, this bushy perennial will soon fill a large gap in your border.  Salvia involucrata requires reasonably well-drained soil, but will tolerate those that are alkaline or acid, as long as it’s sheltered and the ground doesn’t become waterlogged.

It’s slightly tender to the frost, so may need some protection over the winter months if the temperature really drops.

A good layer of mulch, for example compost or bark chip, will do the trick. Or if you’re feeling really adventurous, you can lift them out of the ground and store them under cover in a greenhouse of cool conservatory, ready to replant the following year.

Full details about protecting tender plants in winter can be found on the RHS website.

Salvia involucrata is best grown in full sun, but will tolerate partial shade or the light dappled shade of trees.  At Wisley, it was growing at the edge of a woodland part of the garden so although it was shaded by the trees, it still had enough light to flourish.

This salvia works best used in cottage-style planting schemes where the soft foliage can really be appreciated.  Other places that you could plant it are in wall side borders and courtyard gardens, where it’s sheltered, and it will also grow in coastal gardens too.

Images: Lisa Cox

This month’s Garden Flowers post, which I write with Rona Wheeldon of Flowerona, features violas. Read more

This month’s Garden Flowers post, which I write with Rona Wheeldon of Flowerona, features penstemon. Read more

In this month’s Garden Flowers blog post which I write with blogger and freelance writer, Rona Wheeldon, we’re looking at perhaps one of the lesser well-known garden plants, the flowering currant. Read more

There’s always something to be getting on with in the garden, whatever the season, but in the deepest depths of January it’s often difficult to motivate yourself to get out there, especially when it’s grey and cold.  Read more

Welcome to my new monthly series with floral blogger, Rona Wheeldon called Garden Flowers. Read more