Salvia greggii Mirage Cream

Salvia greggii Mirage Cream is a very bright bushy sage, naturally compact in habit, which flowers abundantly from spring until autumn, without interruption if the soil remains moist in summer. Its pale cream-coloured flowers, large for this type of sage, bloom abundantly on a small bush adorned with small dark green leaves that are pleasantly aromatic. Relatively hardy and drought-tolerant, it is a very good plant for decorating terraces or sunny flower beds.

Salvia greggii Mirage Cream is part of a series of recent bushy sages, called "Mirages", selected for their compact and uniform habit as well as their increased floribundity. This collection offers a beautiful range of pastel or vibrant colours that can easily be combined with each other or with other blooms, whether in pots or in the ground. The wild ancestor of the Mirage Sages, called Texas Sage, belongs to the family of lamiaceae or labiates, and is an aromatic plant native to the mountains of the east, west, and south of Mexico, as well as the south of Arizona.

The Mirage Cream Sage is a branching perennial plant with a bushy and erect habit, almost as wide as it is tall. It will reach approximately 45-50 cm (18-20in) in all directions, depending on the growing conditions. The nectar-bearing flowering is particularly long and generous, starting from May and lasting until autumn, unless drought or cold puts an end to it. The elongated flower spikes emerge from the foliage. Each flower is barely more than 2 cm (1in) in length. The two-lipped corolla, enclosed by a very dark calyx, is a very pale yellow. The flowers only live for a day, covering the ground with their petals in the evening, but will already be replaced the next morning. The evergreen foliage is composed of small elongated leaves, 2-3 cm (1in) long, dark green, thick, aromatic and slightly sticky, releasing a strongly scented fresh and tangy essential oil with heat. In case of intense drought, the plant may partially lose its leaves, without any impact on its health. New buds will develop as soon as the rains return. The plant can withstand short frosts of around -10 to -12°C in well-drained soil.

This Mirage Cream bushy sage can be used in pots and in flower and shrub beds. It accompanies the spring blooms of tulips and peonies, as well as those of roses, bellflowers, and other summer perennials. But its association with autumn asters is fabulous: choose those that require little care, such as Aster ericoides, Aster turbinellus, or Aster amellus, for example. In a rockery or in a dry garden, combine it with rosemary, Perovskia, Caryopteris, Gauras, and tall Sedums (Sedum Matrona). On the terrace, place it in a large pot, right next to an Imperata cylindrica 'red baron'; the contrast of colours and silhouettes is fantastic!

In Mexico, a delicious tea is made from the leaves of the greggii sage, which is called 'mountain myrtle' there.