Sage advice Sage advice (September 19, 2003)

Salvias abound like jewels in the sun in Betsy's garden

By Sue Dremann

On a ridge overlooking Mindego Hill, Woodside author Betsy Clebsch strolled her one-acre garden. In the warm, sunny morning, deer greet the visitor at the property's gate. At the garden, more than 40 species of bees flit from bloom to bloom amid the native California plants and multitudes of salvias -- commonly known as sages, she said.

Clebsch's garden is a living love poem written in salvias. Spikelets of two-lipped dainty blossoms in a dazzling array sing their colors like a thousand fairy voices. It boasts so many, she has lost count.

"Heaven knows how many I have," she said. There are more than 900 species worldwide, providing Clebsch with a lifetime botanical adventure.

Begun in 1988, the garden is ever-changing. Presently, she's cultivating a new sage just discovered in South Africa -- Salvia themara, which is named for the mountainside on which it was found, she said. She has traveled the world over to see the plants in their natural habitats, in Africa, Central America, and the Italian and French Rivieras.

Clebsch just published her second book, "The New Book of Salvias -- Sages for Every Garden," which describes 50 more species than the first edition, "A Book of Salvias." She considers herself an amateur, not a trained botanist, perhaps best describing herself as a "plantswoman."

Part of the attraction of salvias is their diversity, she said. The plants can fit in any garden scheme from shade to full sun, and from rock garden and mountainside to borders. They can be deciduous, or evergreen; annual, perennial or biennial. Heights vary from ground hugging to six feet. Leaves can be tiny and thyme-like (Salvia serpyllifolia), to more than a foot long (Clary sage).

Leaf color and shape also vary widely. Take, for instance, the common garden sage, the one that's used in turkey stuffing. One variety, "Purpurascens," or Red sage, has purple-gray foliage. Another handsome selection, 'Woodcote,' has bicolored leaves in two shades of green, the darker color splashed along the veins.

Not all sages have sage-green leaves. One species native to California, the highly scented Salvia apiana or White sage, has whitish leaves and is used in Native American purification ceremonies. It's become popular with the New Age crowd in recent years. Drought tolerant, the plant has white or pale lavender flowers that bloom in spring. As a focal point in the garden amid a backdrop of green, it can draw the eye into the garden.

Clebsch grows her plants from seeds she obtains through botanic gardens. The joy of growing plants from seed often comes from the surprising variation in the plants -- it's nature's gift of diversity at its best. One variety, 'Hot Lips,' has more than one colored flower on the same plant. The blooms can be all white, all red, or bi-colored. A low-growing plant, it's a best-seller often available at Strybing Arboretum plant sales, she said.

Flower color is as varied as the number of species -- from white, yellow with ruby lips and apricot, to purple, magenta and fiery red. There are bloomers for every season.

Salvia blepharophylla, Eyelash-leaved sage, has brilliant red, one-inch-long flowers. The botanical name, from the Greek meaning "hairs like an eyelash," describes tiny hairs that fringe its leaves, she said. Under a magnifying glass, they appear curled like eyelashes. Native to Mexico, the plant is shade tolerant. At about 18 iches in height and with a spreading habit, the plant is striking for the front of a bed or border. Protected from frost, it remains evergreen, she said.

"Almost all salvia leaves have glands and emit fragrance," Clebsch said, which is also part of its allure. From perfumed to somewhat fetid, salvias have had a long historical association with humans, being used medicinally wherever they occur in the world, she added.

While many of the sages in Clebsch's garden can't be found in nurseries, Salvia guaranitica, Anise-scented sage, is readily available and easily grown, she said. Originally from Argentina, it's "unparalleled in its ability to repeat bloom over a long period throughout summer and autumn," Clebsch notes in her book. Sporting rich, blue-violet flowers, the four- to five-foot-tall plant shimmers like jewels in the sun.

Salvia microphylla, a plant "with many garden-worthy cultivars," comes in an array of reds, magentas and pinks. 'Rosita' has hot pink flowers that keep their color no matter how hot it gets, she said. The plant blooms in spring and again in autumn.

Described as far back as 1762, Salvia nemorosa is attractive, hardy and easy to grow, according to Clebsch's book. It's popular with hybridizers. 'Schneehugel,' a cultivar found in Clebsch's garden, has white flowers that bloom three times a year, she said. Cultivars come in a variety of colors, including purple, violet, blue, rose, pink, bi-colored and white.

Clebsch cuts the plant "way back" to produce leaf growth. Pruning techniques are not uniform for all species -- some plants do better with dead-heading. "Observe the plants and then do something about it," rather than follow any hard and fast rules, she said.

Each sage described in her book is paired with plants Clebsch has tested in her garden to enhance the salvia's appearance. For example, the intense violet-blue flowers of Salvia nemorosa 'Blauhugel' look best with gray-foliaged plants, such as California native Artemisia pycnocephala, 'David's Choice' or Artemisia 'Powis Castle', she noted.

Dark purple Salvia nemorosa 'Ostfriesland' looks stunning when combined in the bed with penstemon 'Huntington Pink' and a purple hybrid penstemon for a dramatic pairing of colors in the same tone.

A good local spot to glimpse some of the salvias Clebsch writes about is Elizabeth F. Gamble Garden in Palo Alto. Strybing Arboretum in San Francisco, UC Botanic Garden in Berkeley and UC Santa Cruz Arboretum are also good places to scout out unusual species and cultivars, some of which are available for sale.

In her honor, in 1994, Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden in southern California named a salvia after Clebsch: Saliva clevelandii 'Betsy Clebsch.' Raised from seed collected in the wild, the plant produces flowers varying widely in color, from bluish lavender to white or even bi-colored -- all on the same plant. It favors dry desert climates of southern California.

"I've never been able to grow that plant," Clebsch said of the salvia that honors her. In her coast range mountain garden, she's tried three times, she said, but she's not giving up.

Info

What: Betsy Clebsch will lecture on salvias, "Salvias for Every Garden," at the monthly meeting of the Garden Club of Los Altos. A tour of her garden will follow the next week, arranged through the garden club.
When: Tuesday, Sept. 23, at 1:30 p.m.
Cost: $5 for guests
Where: Christ Episcopal Church, 1040 Border Road, Los Altos
Info: Linda Caprini, 365-4677