The Salvia splendens
THE Salvia splendens (Scarlet Sage ) is a flashy shrub in the largest class of plants in the mint family, Lamiaceae.
Salvia reaches 1.3 m (4.3 ft) tall. Her stems are typically vertically angled like other members in the family.
The leaves are typically entire, but sometimes toothed or arising from both sides of the stem.
The flowering stems bear small bracts, dissimilar to the basal leaves, though in some species they are ornamental and showy.
The flowers are produced in branched clusters, and generally put on a showy display, with colours ranging from blue to red, with white and yellow less common.
Salvia is native to Brazil, growing at 2,000 to 3,000 m (6,600 to 9,800 ft) elevations where it is warm year-round, and with high humidity.
The specie is distributed throughout the Americas, with three distinct regions of diversity, namely: Central and South America (approx. 500 species); Central Asia and the Mediterranean (250 species); and Eastern Asia (90 species).
The salvia specie available locally has purple flowers, and has been described as a good dual-purpose plant that will perform dutifully in full sun or partial shade.
It needs average soil and continuous moisture to perform at its best.
Salvia provides some of the purest scarlet and red and purple flowers in the garden world, and their vertical growth  accentuates  the garden.
Gardeners have been advised to plant Salvia as spots of colour against other colours.
They’re a classic combination with blue and white.
Their ability to bloom well in light shade, it is said,  makes them especially useful with pastel colours that tend to fade in the sun.
They also make good container plants.
Salvia is available locally at Flower Paradise, on the Eccles Public Road, East Bank Demerara. Tel# 233-3029.