Scintillating Salvias

Just home from England hours ago, I’m up early this morning sorting mail and other detritus and just discovered one of the newspaper columns published while I was away failed to include any of the plant photos submitted with the text.  I’m sure there was reason, but was sad to see the Toronto Botanical Garden (which I visited during the Garden Bloggers Fling, June 4-8) didn’t get its due.  To compensate, I’d like to highlight a few of its spectacular plantings here.

Meadow-Like Garden in Toronto Depends on Salvias (excerpted from the Greenville News)

Toronto Botanical Garden’s Entry Garden Walk

Recently, I visited the Toronto Botanical Garden, and though the garden is relatively new, there was much to enjoy.  I particularly liked the Entry Garden Walk, an area comprising a double border of herbaceous and woody plants designed by Dutch garden designer and plantsman, Piet Oudolf, which is true to his usual “sophisticated meadow” style.

More of the double border, with Phlomis tuberosa ‘Amazone’ in the upper right.

Typically, Oudolf combines bold drifts of perennials and grasses interspersed with shrubs and small trees.  His plant selection is driven by a strong predilection for architectural form and texture, plus autumn and winter interest.

Though flower color is not Oudolf’s main focus, he has a flair for creating harmonious combinations.  The early-June mix in the Toronto garden was dominated by shades of purple, accented with touches of white, pink, and burgundy.

Baptisia ‘Purple Smoke’ (B. alba x B. australis)

There were purple ‘Globemaster’ alliums, as well as ‘Purple Smoke’ baptisias, and a very handsome clump of lavender-hued Phlomis tuberosa ‘Amazone’.  What really caught my eye, though, was a stunning trio of salvias that punctuated the borders with vivid, upright jolts of color.

The first, Salvia nemorosa ‘Caradonna’, a plant I grew in my previous, sunny garden, is a beautiful old world sage with dusky grape-colored flower stems and striking blue-violet flowers.  Its narrow bloom spikes, crowded with flowers, typically stand 24 to 30-inches tall.  Soon after its introduction, it was honored as winner of the 2000 Outstanding New Perennial Award by the International Hardy Plant Union.

Salvia nemerosa ‘Caradonna’

Similar in form and standing equally tall, Salvia nemorosa ‘Amethyst’ offers neon purple stems and calyces accented with rich, lavender-pink flowers.  Raised by Oudolf himself and honored with the prestigious Award of Garden Merit of the Royal Horticultural Society, it’s considered the best pink-hued variety.

Saliva nemorosa ‘Amethyst’

The final salvia, ‘Madeline’, also introduced by Oudolf, was discovered as an open pollinated seedling in a patch of Salvia hians.  Featuring branching spikes of bicolor flowers with a violet-blue upper calyx with a white lower lip, the eye-catching ‘Madeline’ grows to about 2-feet tall.

Salvia ‘Madeline’

Perennial salvias, such as those mentioned here, are easy to grow in the Upstate, as they are both heat-loving and drought-tolerant once established.  I’ve never seen them suffer from pest or disease and they actually prefer little or no fertilizer.  Maintenance is limited to removal of old stems just as new growth begins to emerge in early spring and pruning after bloom to encourage a second or even third flush of flowers.