Salvia clevelandii

Native to the San Diego region of California, this is a difficult plant to grow in our climate, due to too much rain and insufficient sunshine. The foliage is highly aromatic, and the flowers can be various shades of blue or violet. It needs to be kept very dry if it is going to flower. Good specimens were seen at the Eden project and were flowering well. Grow from seed in a gritty compost. It is worth persevering with in the unlikely event of a warm, sunny spring. Even without flowers, it is an attractive foliage plant. (Photo by Michael Charters of calflora.)