Sage in the Formal Herb Garden

I use a variety of Salvia in my Formal Herb Garden: I find it is an easy to grow herb with ancient ties.

Common Sage (salvia officianalis)
Purple Sage (S. officianalis purpurascens)
Tricolour Sage (S. officianalis 'tricolor')

It is only late June and the tall spikes of purple sage are already finishing their bloom. I will soon have to pull out my trusted rusty clippers and top these bee magnets.

I placed purple sage in the middle of each quarter of the garden in order to bounce the purples of the sage off the greens of the surrounding boxwoods. The sage has quadrupled since just last year. The swath of shiney silvery purples are only hightened after a summer rain. Into the middle of the purple sage I dropped a touch of tricolor sage, adding that little extra zest.