The area takes a little while to get going, but is starting to look good now. The "surprise" item is a plant...
The plant is to the left of the potted grass:
Here's a closer look:
When this first appeared in the spring I thought "that looks like salvia 'Black and Blue'".
Now that this is starting to bloom...
...I think that even more.
I had one of those planted here last year. Did it survive the winter? Did it reseed?
There appears to be more than one plant here, although I suppose that the stems are close enough together to all be originating from the same root system. So maybe the plant did make it through our winter -- that would be crazy!
Does this plant come true from seed?
From the other side:
It looks so much like the two 'Black and Blue' that I purchased this spring but have not yet gotten into the ground (or bigger pots):
Missouri Botanical Garden says about this plant: "...Plants grown in protected locations with winter mulch may survive mild winters in USDA Zones 6-7."
That's got to be it, right?
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Hooray! I've had them return here if they are kept on the dry side during the winter. Their tubers, like most, don't like winter moisture. If you want to go to the trouble of digging the tubers and saving them over winter in a cool dark place, that works too. http://blog.arrowheadalpines.com/2009/10/save-your-salvia-black-and-blue-tubers.html
ReplyDeleteThat's quite a success to get them to come back, nice one!!
ReplyDeleteI use an organic fertilizer and my tortoise will eat it if he smells it. I have to make sure to bury it to keep him out of it.
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