Sage (Purple)
Plant Specifications
Beautiful deep purple and green leaves are a beautiful contrast plant. Mild culinary flavor, with occasional purple flowers in the spring. Like golden sage, this selection is a bit lower growing, usually to 1 ft tall and wide, and is a lovely choice in containers and herb bowls. Plant it with Salvia nemorosa 'Marcus' and Achillea tomentosa 'King Edward' in a sunny bowl, or with Cuphea llevera 'Bat Face' and Veronica 'Sunshine' in a container for afternoon shade to get terrific color all summer.
Prune heavily to keep it compact, with plenty of new leaves.
Aromatic soft grey small leaves with lavender to blue blooms in Summer. Sage is an herb from an evergreen shrub, Salvia officinalis, in the mint family.
In the Garden
Takes the heat well, but not humidity in South Texas and is considered an annual here for that reason. Prefers a well-drained rocky soil with low moisture. Does not like its roots wet.
Plant Uses
Strong flavor does well in cooking, dried and medicinal herbs. A very oily sage, its musky, peppery aroma is great for culinary use. A beautiful sage to dry for bunches and arrangements. Sage enhances pork, lamb, meats, and sausages. Chopped leaves flavor salads, pickles, and cheese. It is one of the most popular herbs in the United States.
(Salvia officinalis)