Salvia argentea

The Salvia argentea, also known as Silver Sage, is a superb perennial or biennial botanical species appreciated primarily for its fabulous silver-clad foliage. It first forms a large rosette of ample evergreen, wavy, aromatic leaves covered in long bristles that turn white in summer. It flowers in the second year, in the form of a long upright stem bearing small white flowers. These are best removed before further seed formation to ensure the plant's longevity. This southern sage is hardy, but dislikes humidity and heavy soils. It requires full sun and perfectly drained soil, sandy or gravelly, even poor and calcareous.

The Salvia argentea is native to southern Europe and northwest Africa, from Turkey to the Balkan Peninsula, the Apennines, and the Iberian Peninsula. It grows naturally in loamy-gravelly soils, rich in limestone, in open environments (rockeries, steppes, and dry forests). This plant, like all salvias, belongs to the family of lamiaceae or labiates. Its growth habit is biennial, but will behave like a short-lived perennial if care is taken to prevent seed formation. The plant quickly forms a rosette that is 50 to 60 cm (20 to 24in) wide, composed of large oval, lobed, undulate leaves entirely covered in a long silver down. The foliage reaches a height of 20 to 30 cm (8 to 12in), with a diameter of about 60 cm (24in). The flowering, nectar-rich and honey-producing, appears in the second year of cultivation. The flowering stems, 70 to 80 cm (28 to 32in) tall, are branched. They are square-sectioned stems, bearing white flowers composed of two white lips. It is hardy in perfectly drained soil, to around -15°C (5°F). Small rosettes can appear on the periphery, also allowing the plant to perpetuate itself.

The Silver Sage can sometimes appear capricious, due to its dislike of stagnant humidity, especially in heavy, waterlogged soils in winter. It will thrive in a gravelled path border or in a raised bed with sandy or rocky soil reserved for authentic Mediterranean plants: lavender, rockroses, rosemary, myrtle. In a rockery, for example, it will accompany small drought-tolerant perennials such as soapwort, Californian poppies, creeping gypsophila, or Corsican carnation (Dianthus corsicus). Gauras, catananches, tall sedums (Sedum 'Matrona'), and shrubby potentillas will also create a charming scene alongside it.

With over 900 species of annuals, perennials, and soft-wooded shrubs distributed throughout the globe, except in very cold regions and the tropical forest, the genus Salvia is the richest in the lamiaceae family. The name Salvia, which dates back to Roman times, derives from the Latin salvus "healthy" in allusion to the medicinal properties of common sage.