Salvia fruticosa, in the Lamiaceae family, is known as Middle Eastern Sage or Greek Sage, has been growing in Greece for thousands of years. It's one of the earliest blooming salvias, producing blooms in early March that last about a month. What's more, it's evergreen, so it really adds to the winter and early spring garden.
According to "The New Book of Salvias: Sages for Every Garden," by Betsy Clebsch (Timber Press / $19.95), it has been "valued for centuries for its bountiful beauty" and "has medicinal and culinary properties as well as sweet nectar and pollen."
Not to be confused with Salvia divinorum, this bushy shrub grows 2 feet tall and wide, with 1-foot flower stalks above hairy grey-green foliage.
Specs: Requires full sun, hardy to 20 degrees (F), drought tolerant and suitable for xeriscaping. Propagate by seed or cuttings.
In the mint family, Greek Sage's leaves are often dried for use in tea. In its native Middle East region, insect damage forces the plant to produce galls, which are peeled off and eaten, belive it or not.
I poked around the web a bit today and found -- mostly on sites I wouldn't ordinarily visit, those with names like Vampyress and Crystal Forest -- that sage tea has been shown to cure stress and exhaustion, and improve memory, especially in old age. It made me wonder if the adjective sage, as in "sage old man," meaning "wise," was somehow related to the plant. Salvia, after all, is derived from the Latin word meaning "to heal." Hence, "salve," the ointment.
And voila! On a site called foodreference.com, I learned, "it was believed that sage stimulated the brain, therefore, increasing powers of concentration, memory and reasoning. From this, the word “sage” took on another meaning – wise person."
Over the weekend, I bought 3 salvias for my garden. I certainly won't be eating any galls, but I'll report back if my memory improves.
Photo (Salvia 'May Night') courtesy perennials.com
