Photography And Half-Thoughts By Mitchell Hegman

...because some of it is pretty and some of it is not.

Friday, September 6, 2013

Russian Sage


Pictured today are photos of the Russian Sage growing near my hot tub.  I love the scent—like basil on triple-steroids.  Every time I pass near the plant, I pluck a tip from one of the stems and roll it in my fingers, sniffing.
Powerful medicine!
As the name implies, Russian sage is an exotic from central Asia (Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan, and Tibet).  The plant thrives in high dry climates as well as soils that verge on alkaline.   Russian sage makes for a tall and showy late summer feature in Xeriscaping.  From a distance the flowers sometimes appear like a deep blue mist floating just above the ground.   Unlike knapweed and Dalmatian toadflax, Russian sage is not invasive.      

--Mitchell Hegman

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