The garden varieties of Salvia nemorosa are amongst the most beautiful and obliging of all garden perennials. They flower for a good half of the year in the tough windswept plains of the Central Victorian Goldfields where I garden. They are frost hardy down to -20C and didn’t show any signs of distress when we had four days of 47C a couple of years ago. Read more about Meadow Sage
Softer and more nearly true blue than other Salvia nemorosa types this is a wonderful addition to the group. Gentle mauve-blue flower spikes are produced on a tidy low growing plant from spring until winter. Read more about Salvia nemorosa ‘Blauhugel Blue Hills’
This is one of the best new plants we have in our dry garden with all the virtues of the nemorosa salvias but with a startlingly different flower colour. Stiff leafy spikes of bright magenta rose flowers are in bloom from spring onwards. Read more about Salvia x superba ‘Rubin’
Salvia ‘Snow Hills’ is a sport of S. ‘Blue Hills’ (Blauhugel) and makes dwarf tidy clumps of stiff upright stems which carry spikes of clean white flowers. Read more about Salvia nemorosa ‘Snow Hills’
A German bred plant which I bought from Beth Chatto’s beautiful nursery in the UK and brought through Australia's stringent quarantine requirements. Salvia ‘Viola Klose’ is a relatively dwarf plant with spikes of the darkest violet blue flowers. Read more about Salvia nemorosa ‘Viola Klose’
This stunning new Salvia is a seedling of S. ‘Alegria’ which is itself a hybrid between S. microphylla and S. dichlamys. ‘Alegria’s Child’ carries flame pink flowers in dark calyces on 30cm stems held well above a leafy plant some 120cm tall by as much across. Read more about Salvia ‘Alegria's Child’
This wonderful new Salvia was discovered at a plant market in Argentina in 2005. It makes a leafy plant which from spring until winter produces rich royal purple flowers set in black bracts. It will be happy in any sunny or lightly shaded, well drained position. Read more about Salvia ‘Amistad’ PBR
This Salvia has a tidy habit and is very free flowering. It features sparkling violet-purple flowers from December to late April. It was discovered in the Devon (UK) garden of former holder of the National Salvia Collection, Christine Yeo. Read more about Salvia greggii ‘Christine Yeo’
A greatly improved variety of S. guaranitica. Its dark blue flowers are carried on black stemmed spikes from mid-spring until late in the autumn. Can be grown in light shade but is best in full sun where it will grow up tp 120cm tall with a spread of 90cm. Read more about Salvia guaranitica ‘Black and Bloom’
A native of the western Himalayas this Salvia makes a perennial plant about 50cm tall by 50cm across. Its branching flower stem carries large mauve purple flowers with white bee lines on its lip. Happy in any sunny well drained spot which doesn’t parch during dry periods. Read more about Salvia hians
Newly imported, this is similar to Salvia greggii both in growth and needs but is a hybrid between S. greggii and S. microphylla. Makes a twiggy shrub covered with the most captivating of light lemon flowers for most of the warmer months. Read more about Salvia x jamensis ‘White Gold’
‘Santa Barbara’ is such a good plant, neater than other varieties, making a rounded shrubby plant, some 80cm x 90cm. It carries vertical spikes of deep mauve flowers during late summer and autumn over grey-green foliage. A drought tolerant plant for sun or light shade. Read more about Salvia leucantha ‘Santa Barbara’ PBR
Our working title for this variety of Mexican sage. It was growing in my son Harry Glenn’s garden in Camberwell and is distinguished by its bright purple red flowers held in mauve calyces. Read more about Salvia leucantha ‘Harry's Red’
A relatively new plant imported from a South African breeder with all the virtues. S. ‘Pink Velour’ has baby pink blooms from showy white bracts and white flower spikes. A new colour break for this species. Sun or light shade. 100cm x 90cm. Read more about Salvia leucantha ‘Pink Velour’
This is one of the most telling of all the summer/autumn flowering salvias. It was the most admired plant in our garden last season. We are always besieged by inquiries to purchase the plant when it flowers in the autumn. Read more about Salvia ‘Meigans Magic’
We imported this from Olivier Filippi’s nursery in the South of France. It has all the virtues of the species and carries long stems of soft salmon-pink, cream throated flowers which age over time to a creamy peach-pink. Read more about Salvia microphylla ‘Ribambelle’
This is a terrific new (to us) Salvia raised by Robin Middleton who has the excellent web page Robin’s Salvias. ‘Penny’s Smile’ is a seedling of Salvia ‘Silkes Dream’. It makes a shrub to 100cm tall by as much across. Read more about Salvia ‘Penny's Smile’
Salvia ‘Phyllis Fancy’ is a tough drought tolerant evergreen shrub flowering from midsummer until winter and a great favourite of our resident New Holland Honeyeaters. Read more about Salvia ‘Phyllis Fancy’
Royal Bumble is one of our most popular new releases in recent years imported from Europe. This plant has proven to be tremendously popular and with good cause. Read more about Salvia ‘Royal Bumble’
The first Australian release of a new salvia with dark red flowers displayed on long stems above the foliage. We selected this on a plant buying trip to Europe as one of the best of the dark red flowered Salvias available. Read more about Salvia ‘Silas Dyson’
This newly released Salvia carries sky blue flowers with white bee lines held on 80-90cm tall stems clothed with dark green leaves. ‘Ballon Azul’ grows half as tall and wide as older varieties of bog sage. Read more about Salvia uliginosa ‘Blue Ball (Ballon Azul)’
DROUGHT TOLERANT This forms a dense dwarf bush of intensely silvery white feathered leaves. Yellow billy button flowers are produced in summer. If clipped this Santolina will make a good edging or knot garden plant. Read more about Santolina chamaecyparissus ‘Nana’
We grew this lovely plant years ago but lost our stock during one of our many garden rearrangements. I was going through Terang in south west Victoria a few years ago and saw this Senecio growing in a strip of neglected ground in front of a service station. Read more about Senecio viravira
This hosta has gleaming white leaf edges against striking green. In late summer short stems of lavender flowers dance just above the foliage. A delight to any keen gardener. Partial to full shade.
50-55cm x 100cm Read more about Hosta ‘Minute Man’
Classically variegated foliage with vivid green margins and decorative gold centres. Hostas are vigorous in growth when grown in the shade and if well watered will make a 40cm tall by 60cm wide clumps. Ideal for pots. Read more about Hosta ‘Beach Boy’
This wonderfully fragrant, vigorous growing variety was voted Hosta of the Year by the American Hosta Growers Association a few years back. Read more about Hosta ‘So Sweet’
Selected for its large textured leaves, 'Sum and Substance grows in shade or filtered sunlight where it should be kept well-watered in the summer months. The flowers are suspended well above the foliage to superb effect. The height is 40 to 45 cm. Read more about Hosta ‘Sum & Substance’
This Manzanita can be kept clipped to a metre tall, or allowed to become a 2m shrub. Producing pure white lily-of-the-valley flowers during late winter spring. Rarely offered in Australia. Drought tolerant when established and will grow happily in sun or light shade. Read more about Arctostaphylos densiflora ‘Howard McMinn’
This beaustiful drought tolerant shrub is grown as much for its handsome foliage as for its flowers, pretty though they are. In our dry climate garden it has made an upright shrub some 200cm x 180cm. Read more about Buddleja crispa
Crepe Myrtles will flower even during the hottest summers they are so tough. ‘Hopi’ is a relatively dwarf variety growing 2 metres tall by 3 metres wide. During summer and early autumn it is covered by large clusters of deep pink flowers. Read more about Lagerstroemia indica x faurii ‘Hopi’
Infiniti Crepe Myrtles grow into small rounded deciduous shrubs suited to both garden and landscape plantings as well as growing in pots. ‘Infinitini Brite Pink’ produces generous quantities of bright pink flowers from early summer until well into autumn. Read more about Lagerstroemia indica ‘Infinitini Brite Pink’
Infiniti Crepe Myrtles grow into small rounded deciduous shrubs suited to both garden and landscape plantings as well as growing in pots. Produces generous quantities of dark pink flowers from early summer until well into autumn. The flowers are like crinkled crepe paper. Read more about Lagerstroemia ‘Infinitini Magenta’
Infiniti Crepe Myrtles grow into small rounded deciduous shrubs suited to both garden and landscape plantings as well as growing in pots. ‘Infinitini Orchid’ produces generous quantities of lavender-mauve flowers from early summer until well into autumn. Read more about Lagerstroemia ‘Infinitini Orchid’
This evergreen small shrub has intricately dissected foliage which gives it a lacy fern like appearance. The new leaves are reddish and during winter the leaves turn rich oranges and purples. Read more about Nandina domestica ‘Filamentosa’
Viburnum awabuki is a handsome evergreen foliage plant with glossy deep green leaves 8 to 12 cm long and 2-4cm wide. It makes a good hedging or screening plant and tolerates a fair bit of shade. It is also quite drought tolerant when once established. Read more about Viburnum awabuki
In spring 10cm white domes of flowers which ripen to pink blush. Autumn brings brilliant shades of red and orange leaves. Happy in sunny or lightly shaded spot with a little extra water during dry periods. This shrub will grow 2m x2m Read more about Viburnum opulus ‘Roseum’
A fine blue flowered form of ornamental comfrey. Tough, shade loving and tolerant of dryness when once established this will make a good groundcover for difficult shaded areas. During spring it carries 35cm tall stems carrying dangling bells of blue flowers. Read more about Symphytum ‘Hidcote Blue’
