Salvia scabra

This salvia comes from the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa. This is a neat, compact plant with a height and spread of about 1ft. It is in bloom from June until frost, and the long flowers are a lovely shade of lilac/pink, with a blue tinge. The attractive foliage is serrated. It is supposed to be quite hardy, but I have lost plants that were left outside in Winter. Luckily, it sets seed, and can be treated as an annual. A clump of these at the front of a border looks most attractive. I imagine three plants would look good in a container. Photo by Rolando Uria.