A prickle: roseleaf sage
Bramble & Briar #119
The continuing chronicles of plants that got under my skin
As prickles go, this is a slight one. It’s not that the plant lust is weak; in this case, the hankering is just as much of a present irritant as any of my other prickles. But this is a plant that’s been here before and, if the cuttings I took last week root successfully, it soon will be again.
Roseleaf sage, at least this particular variety it (Salvia x involucrata ‘Hadspen’), is just about the largest salvia you’re likely to meet. It reaches 1.8 metres skyward without breaking a sweat and, since I cut it down to the ground in early spring, all that growth will be put on over just a few months. It’s reasonably hardy, too – I’ve had the pleasure of tending it in two other gardens, one in a sheltered but reasonably cool bed, the other in a much more exposed setting, and both have survived winters down to -10°C. Typically, the one I grew for myself (from the same batch of cuttings as the one in the exposed bed) didn’t see many seasons out. Almost certainly this brief domestic tenure was a comment upon a rare but frustrating winter waterlogging. I’m trying it again.
For the height and stature, naturally. But for the timing, too, coming into its best at dahlia o’clock, mid to late summer (that’s late July to early October here in the UK). Just as harvest-time shades of biscuit are beginning to set in all around, there’s this gentle giant, with its fresh green leaves, blood red stems and petioles, and the long, exquisite flower heads.
In time, pink becomes the dominant colour but, in the weeks leading up to full bloom, there’s a mild tussle with the palest green and a mottling of creamy white as the flowers strain against the containment of papery bracts. On cooler days in early summer, there’s a freshness that vibes perfectly with the delicate fronds of fennel and the subtler shades of Verbena bonariensis that has yet to be turned up to the piercing violet of a hot, bright August afternoon. As the tall oat grass ripens gold, the colours heat up with the days, the border sways with the breeze and zings with the highlighter bright splashes of a towering salvia. I’ll be keeping a close eye on those cuttings.
'Rooting' for those cuttings! Love your writing, Andrew - feels very cinematic.