Salvia sclarea

Salvia sclarea, commonly known as clary sage, is a large and beautiful plant that is often a biennial and will charm enthusiasts of well-kept, wild, and natural gardens. Robust and low-maintenance, this highly aromatic sage is decorative with large panicles of flowers in shades of pink and pastel blue, and its velvety foliage of a very soft grey-green. It is also a first-rate honey plant and medicinal plant, self-seeding wherever it pleases, filling in empty spaces in flower beds or rockeries.

Clary sage belongs to the Lamiaceae family. This botanical species is native to western Asia, southern and central Europe, and is cultivated or naturalised in many regions of Europe and America. It is grown for its ornamental appearance, and for extracting its essential oil used in aromatherapy and perfumery. A short-lived perennial plant, it is not uncommon for it to exhaust itself as early as its second year of flowering and seed production. Salvia sclarea is a very fast-growing plant. In its first year, it only produces foliage, and then it flowers from the second year onwards. The foliage is often evergreen in winter. It is composed of large, hairy, and rough leaves, with a long triangular shape, 15 to 25cm (6 to 10in) long, with toothed edges. The leaves are a fairly light grey-green colour and are highly aromatic, leaving a sticky and fragrant substance on the fingers. The plant eventually forms an upright clump that can easily reach 1m (3ft) in height when flowering. Flowering occurs from June to August. It takes the form of long pyramidal spikes composed of many flowers, 2 to 3cm (1in) long, grouped in small clusters. Each cluster, called a whorl, is supported by 2 bracts, which are initially pale-pink veined with mauve, turning to whitish veined with green. The flower consists of a white lower lip and a pale-blue to lilac-pink upper lip. These flowers emit a powerful fragrance and are popular with bees.

Once well-established, Salvia sclarea can survive harsh winters (-20°C (-4°F)) and dry summers. It looks elegant when isolated, with the slightly unreal spectacle of its large pastel panicles capturing the eye. In warm and dry climates, it can live for several years and become imposing, reaching up to 1.5m (5ft) in height. It looks beautiful in flower beds, alongside rose bushes, deutzia, red-hot pokers, creeping junipers, sages, cotton lavenders, and many others.