Salvias and Susans

August is winding down and it is still hot; no relief in sight until October. With temps in the high 90's, my plants aren't doing much. I've been thinking about things I could blog about, but I haven't been too inspired. My Salvias and Susans have done well, but not Veronica (more on that at the end of the post).

Two plants that have done well in the heat/humidity are Salvias and Black eyed Susans. I'll always have these in my garden. It seems nothing can kill them. I have several varieties of Salvias: Black and Blue Salvia, Victoria Blue Salvia, Autumn Sage (yes, still a Salvia even though it says Sage) and Indigo Spires Salvia. I love all of them! I don't have a picture of my Victoria Blue Salvia, but here are pictures of the others.

The above picture is my Black and Blue Salvia (Salvia guaranitica). I love the deep blue flowers! Hummingbirds love this plant too. I'm having trouble with leaf yellowing, but that can be solved with fertilizer. Other than that, this plant is care free. This plant can be invasive so give it lots of room!

Autumn Sage (Salvia greggii) has done well this summer. The flowers are a nice deep red which the hummingbirds love. It put on a bunch of flowers when I first planted it (end of spring) then I dead headed it, and now it is putting out fresh flowers. Autumn Sage is a slow grower, but I'm sure once next spring comes around it will grow nicely. It is also a short Salvia. Keep that in mind when planting it. You don't want this nice plant to get swallowed by a larger plant.

The above picture is Indigo Spires Salvia (Salvia farinacea). I've been so impressed with this plant. It grows very fast! It is now covered in light blue/lavender flowers. This salvia can get large, so I planted it in the back of my flower bed. I need to go out and take more pictures of it! Its a floppy plant, so be sure you have some sort of support for it to lean on. I have it leaning on my chain link fence and it seems to be doing well there.

My Susans have not stopped blooming! They are the toughest plant out there. Be sure you have one in your garden, you won't regret it! They keep multiplying, which is another thing I love about them.

The above is a Veronica or a Speedwell, it has several names. I took this picture in the spring and it was doing very well then. But when summer came along, it started to slowly die. I think the main problem is that Veronicas don't handle full sun well in south Louisiana. I got this plant at Lowe's and it was labeled for full sun, but it did not have the correct label for south Louisiana. If it comes back next spring, I may move it to a spot with more shade. Oh well. Live and learn. At least I got to enjoy it during the spring.