Salvia jamensis Raspberry Royale

Salvia x jamensis 'Raspberry Royale' is a woody sage with the appearance of a dense bush, an excellent hybrid, robust and particularly floriferous. Its small velvety flowers, crushed raspberry pink, mingle with evergreen foliage, dark green and strongly aromatic, and appear sporadically in spring, then more generously from late summer until frost. This variety is quite hardy and only requires very well-drained soil, even poor and chalky, in sunny or semi-shaded exposure and adapts wonderfully to pot cultivation.

Salvia x jamensis is a natural hybrid of Salvia greggii and Salvia microphylla, which is frequently found in the mountains of Mexico. 'Raspberry Royale' is one of the excellent cultivars resulting from this cross-breeding, and like all salvias, it belongs to the large family of lamiaceae or labiates. This shrubby perennial has a bushy, branched and spreading habit, wider than it is tall. It will reach a height of 60 cm (24in), with a diameter of 70 cm (28in), or even more in fertile soil. The nectar-rich and honey-producing flowering is particularly generous, especially in autumn from September to November if the cold does not put an end to it. The elongated flowers emerge from the foliage, grouped in spikes. They are barely more than 2 cm (1in) long and are a very dark pink shade, with a mauve to purple highlight when backlit. They only live for a day, covering the ground with their petals in the evening, but will already be replaced the next morning. The foliage is often evergreen and composed of small ovate leaves, dark green, thick and aromatic, a little sticky, releasing with heat an essential oil with a strong acidic smell. They measure from 1 to 2 cm (1in) in length.

The lower autumn light enhances the flowering of shrubby salvias, which capture the light through their petals like tiny stained glass windows. These plants are part of those that have contributed to the notoriety of the Salvia genus: minimal maintenance, but almost uninterrupted flowering from spring to frost. They are found in English cottage gardens and Mediterranean gardens. This 'Raspberry Royale' sage will accompany the spring blooms of rockroses, rosemary, and bellflowers. But its association with autumn asters is fabulous: choose those that are content with very little, such as Aster laevis, Aster turbinellus or Aster amellus for example. Gauras, tall sedums (Sedum 'Matrona'), shrubby potentillas and the silver foliage of artemisias or maritime cinerarias will compose a charming tableau with it. On the terrace, place it in a large pot, covering its base with Cerastostigma plumbaginoides, right next to a Cape Plumbago; the colour combination in October is fantastic!

In Mexico, a delicious tea is prepared with the leaves of this sage, which is called 'mountain myrtle' there.