Last week I was out of town teaching and was forced to come home early due to a awful case of food poisoning (watch out for those buffets!) When Saturday rolled around my outdoor work plans were drastically changed. I had planned on getting some mulch on a few spots but just couldn’t stand being in the heat and humidity for very long without feeling like I was going to have to be dragged inside. So instead I went to a local nursery to see what was new! Of course it would just be plain wrong of me not to come home with something, right?
Here’s what I added to the garden from the nursery:
Texas sage (Salvia coccinea)
This salvia is a verifiable hummingbird magnet! Unfortunately it’s cold hardiness may be in question here but it should reseed in zones 6-8. It grows about 2-3′ tall. I can’t resist planting sages in the garden!
‘Chocolate’ Eupatorium rugosum
This beauty got me with its deep purple tinted foliage. Tina gave me some seedlings last year that never made it but since Tina liked it I new it had to be good! It should return year after year with it’s dark colored foliage and white flowers in the fall. It grows between 4-6′ tall and can be propagated through stem cuttings! I’ll give it a week in the ground before I try to make more.
There are two of the new additions. Soon I’ll show you the new ornamental grasses that I added for my birthday!
What a pretty sage. I hope it self seeds a lot in your garden. The chocolate will for sure. It makes itself at home and has such pretty foliage.
I bought the 'Chocolate' Eupatorium this year too, and I'm hoping I get some blooms. That foliage color is hard to pass up.
Good grief with the illness Dave !
Hope you are feeling much better : )
The only problem I have seen with my Chocolate E. has been a it of "leaf miner" activity .. that surprised me .. but it is in a bit of a tough spot where insects can be very mean to my plants .. I have it paired with Dream Catcher Beauty Bush .. the foil of dark and light colours are gorgeous .. as they mature I hope to have it as a real show stopper combo : )
Eupatorium chocolate is a great plant, though it's slow to get really going in my garden so far. The sage is gorgeous, but I don't have any of it. It would be annual here, obviously.
Hummers love Salvia coccinea. It reseeded itself in my MS garden. It sprouts late in the year when it is hot.
Donna