Salvia officinalis 'Icterina'

Salvia officinalis 'Icterina' is a lovely variety of medicinal sage that stands out with a more compact habit and beautiful foliage widely variegated with green and yellow. Its flowering from spring to summer, in long spikes of pale pinkish mauve nectariferous flowers, is quite rare. This perennial medicinal plant can also be used for herbal tea or to flavour cuisine. Plant it in a sunny location, in well-drained but not arid soil in summer.

Salvia officinalis, like all sages, belongs to the Lamiaceae or Labiate family. This subshrub is native to western Asia but has been widely spread and naturalized for a long time in the Mediterranean region. In France, it can be found here and there throughout a large part of the territory, but mainly in our southern regions. It is a plant that prefers well-drained, even rocky, soil and tolerates the presence of limestone in the soil. Relatively water-efficient, this sage will be more beautiful in soils that remain slightly moist in summer. The flowering stems are erect spikes. They are square-sectioned stems, carrying mauve flowers surrounded at the base by a velvety sheathing calyx, more purplish. The flowers are composed of two lips.

'Icterina' forms a small shrub composed of woody, hairy stems at the base, bearing small wavy and rough leaves, broadly lanceolate, heavily marked with yellow on a grey-green background, lighter on the reverse. The evergreen leafy clump, very aromatic when crushed, will reach about 50cm (20in) in height. The flowering, nectar-bearing and melliferous, is rather rare in this cultivar. The plant tissues contain a highly studied essential oil, with interesting therapeutic and culinary properties.

In the garden, do not hesitate to mix genres by planting some aromatic plants like the Officinal Sage and its varieties in the middle of your perennial borders or even in rock gardens. They will integrate perfectly, fill in gaps without requiring maintenance, and the sometimes strong scents of aromatic plants often have the ability to repel insects that may attack more delicate plants like certain roses or lilies. The 'Icterina' Officinal Sage has real ornamental qualities to be exploited in a garden that leaves space for nature, whether it is a country-style garden or a herb garden. It can be associated, for example, with shrubby sages ('Royal Bumble', Salvia greigii), shrubby Artemisias, Echinops, Erigeron karvinskianus, lavenders, and other fast-growing plants that will create a beautiful setting in 3 or 4 years.