Salvia

This 'Cherry Queen' (left) is making its second appearance in my garden. It is twice as big as last year, but it's not a robust plant. Still it blooms very well and I'm glad I've got it in my landscape.

The mystery Salvia on the right is a gift from Cheryle Maddox, who told me it had unexpectedly shown up in her garden one year and spread. "I don't know what it is," she told me, "but it's got pretty blue flowers." She sure was right! It's found a place next to a Stevia and complements it nicely. I hope it comes back next year.

What was sold to me as "hot lips" in March -- I think it would better be called "warm lips" or maybe "peach lips", because of its gentle color -- has been in bloom for months. Just in the past few days the "black and blue" has begun to open up also. Even though I have declared Yarrow my favorite perennial of 2009, Salvia is hard to ignore.