Salvias are just starting to flower in my garden and in a few of my client’s gardens and it’s the perfect time to add these to a border or plant in a pot or two. Usually I head down to a plant fair in Highgate (in North London) in May and pick up some gorgeous specimens from Dysons Salvia Nursery, but as this couldn’t take place this year, Dyson’s have over 50 Salvias on offer on their mail order service. And their nursery (near Sevenoaks in Kent) has just opened again to the public. Hurrah!
Above is Salvia x jamensis ‘Nachtvlinder’, a most elegant plant (growing to about 75cm tall) and should you brush up against the leaves, a heady aroma of mint, sage and a touch of something spicy will delight your olfactory organs. The whole seeing and smelling experience combined is a delight. And while this plant is borderline tender, the plants above came from cuttings taken in autumn (by my lovely garden colleague @Lauraarison) and over-wintered in a greenhouse, so treated right, they’re easy to propagate. In London they survive in a pot outside over the winter months, but with all the old growth left on until new leaves have started appearing in Spring.

Likewise, I managed to kill off this meatier S. Amistad (above) the first year I grew it by cutting it right back in autumn, but now I know to leave well alone (well, until late Spring at least), these gloriously rich purple blooms appear for 5 to 6 months solid, from June and well into November and return year after year.

Growing to roughly 120cm tall, it’s a superb splash of color in the garden and I love to surround it with deep orange Tithonias or giant red hot pokers, Kniphofia uvaria and here above @Innertemple they’re prefect companions for the riotous heads of Dahlia Emory Paul. By the way, I’ve hugely enjoyed the virtual garden tours of the Inner Temple Gardens on Instagram at 4pm every Wednesday with Sean, the head gardener, generously sharing his knowledge.





or here’s S. Cambridge Blue, a shorter variety, up to 75cm, but with with larger clear blue blooms which are ideal for a front a of a border, although they start producing blooms a bit later, from July.

I’ve been wanting to go to the Dyson Nursery and the attached Great Comp gardens in Kent for some time now. Not sure this is the year to do it, but if you live nearby, and you’re in need of a garden fix, definitely worth a trip to see the Salvias in bloom.
N.B.You’ll need to buy a pass online beforehand if you want to visit the garden