Salvia with Colocasia “Black Magic”
Do you ever buy plants on impulse? Most of us gardening addicts do.
Something about the shape of a leaf or color of a petal just grabs my attention, and I want to bring it home and grow it.
Some people go to the shelter and adopt dogs. I adopt plants.
And early this season, I was a sucker for Salvias. There was this whole new expanse of full sun garden to populate, you see, and I was looking for tough, drought resistant, deer defying Salvias.
Actually, I was looking for a few favorite Salvias from summers past which didn’t make it through winter 2013 in our garden. And I was looking for several wonderful Salvias spotted in glossy gardening magazines. I was in full “collector” mode when I spotted this beauty.
I admired the particular rosy tint of its petals. Love at first sight, it came home and went directly into the clay beside our new Colocasia and Canna garden. I dug a generous hole for the little 4″ rootball, dug in some compost and Plant Tone, and tucked it into its new home.
And that was it. I was tempted to pull up a lawn chair and wait for the hummingbirds to arrive, but somehow that never happened.
This little beauty has grown on the benign neglect of occasional watering and sporadic deadheading for the last six months.
And what a delight she has become!
And her name remains a mystery. I do hope her roots survive the winter, for with this much growth in a single summer, I can only imagine what next year might bring!
Photos by Woodland Gnome 2014
Forest Garden 
My guess is that it is Salvia greggii ‘Coronado Pink’ which is only hardy to zone 8. Maybe take some cuttings to overwinter? Do you did up the Colocasia?
Thank you for the ID, Eliza. I searched for that cultivar and I believe you’re right, based on the photo I found. It is lovely, and I should get cuttings tomorrow. Our Colocasias are supposed to be hardy here…. I still intended to dig up the offshoots, and haven’t done that yet. No freeze warnings yet, though we’ll have our coldest night yet tonight. Mid 40s and dropping….
Rather bitter here, raw, damp wind with showers. Brrr! Walked our neighbor’s Lab, how she lifted our hearts. We intend to ‘borrow’ her a lot more! Mutually beneficial, she needs to lose a few pounds and we enjoy the company.
What a fortunate lab! I saw your comment to Robin, and it touched my heart. Hang in there, Eliza. Wishing you happiness and peace, WG
Thank you kindly, dear Elizabeth!
😉
And mine which I think came out of a packet of seeds were a blaze of red. The hummingbirds came for breakfast, as we breakfasted indoors watching them breakfast out, the. For lunch and an early dinner. They left for warmer climes early last month and what’s left of the salvias, and their seeds are being enjoyed by the yellow jackets. Much food for many a forager these try salvia pots on the deck have been.
What fun to watch them all come and go 😉