Plant of the Month: More Salvia! (November 2025)

Last week I was in Greenwich Park, in what was the Old Rose Garden for several decades, and now transformed into a fantastic herbaceous garden, a riot of colour, shapes and forms, tall grasses swaying and intermingling flowering shrubs (find out more about this transformation). I had gone there to see one specific Salvia – and what a show they were putting on!

Salvia ‘Phyllis’ Fancy’

Without a doubt, these half-hardy shrubs are the stars in this garden at the moment (November), planted throughout the beds and looking absolutely magnificent. Tall and dominant, in full flower, with some up to two metres in width. I’ve grown this Salvia before (thriving through one mild winter) but only to a height of less than one metre. What was I doing wrong? If you have time to spare, do visit the gardens and enjoy this spectacle before it’s too late. You will come across absolutely huge, upright aromatic specimens covered in sprays of pale-white-blush-blue/mauve flowers, supported by blue/purple calyces – a joyous riot of subtle colouring, stature, cohesion and giving the ‘wow’ factor to this wonderful garden. Not to be missed!

Salvia elegans (pineapple sage)

I’m very partial to soft-orange and deep-orange flowering plants and I have a flowering stem of pineapple sage in a jam jar on my kitchen table. Depending on the light, some might say it’s red/pink but in the garden it’s a bright, deep-orange, almost fluorescent. My shrub has suffered a bit due to recent heavy rain, but some stems are still standing tall at over a metre and flowering well atop stems with medium-sized ovate leaves. Although I am very pleased with this plant, it started flowering late. I also need to put on a coat and boots to enjoy it’s colourful flowers (my fault), as it’s tucked away at the back of the garden. I’m hoping that the surrounding shrubs protect it during the winter and that the cuttings also root for me! Next year, my job will be to move it to a more prominent location so that it might flower earlier and be admired by all.

Salvia ‘Amistad’ (friendship sage)

My S. ‘Amistad’ is covered in flowers now and much happier with all the rain it’s been receiving the last few weeks. This cultivar likes a moist soil and I noticed it struggled during this year’s heat-waves, its stems drooping unhappily until I gave it quite a bit of water. It doesn’t like competition either, where neighbouring shrubs are also taking moisture from the soil. But saying that, I wouldn’t be without it, as its deep purple flowers and supporting black calyces are very necessary in a border because the rich colour gives much-needed ‘oomph’ to any garden.

Salvia guaranitica ‘Black and Blue’

Without a doubt, my most favourite Salvia, due to its rich, deep-blue flowers and supporting black calyces, hence the name. My shrub has nine sprays of flowers at present and hopefully it will flower on and off, right through until next May. It’s tall (approximately two metres) and lends a jungly, tropical look to the garden. This is a cutting-of-a-cutting-of-a-cutting-of a cutting from the original plant bought 30-35 years ago. It loves moisture and shelter and sun and it’s a delight to see outside my kitchen window throughout the winter months.

Anna L