Dozens of salvia varieties grow beautifully in containers or in the ground as annuals. But come frost, they’re done. Some salvias, however, will overwinter in the North, and as hybridizers have worked to breed more cultivars of these perennial salvia, the options for northern gardeners are growing exponentially. Which salvia grow here? Most perennial salvias for…

If you enjoy watching hummingbirds in the garden or seeing lots of pollinators on your plants, be sure to plant some annual salvias next year. Salvia is an enormous genus of plants with more than 1,000 species, including those that are annual, perennial or shrubs. The herb sage (Salvia officianalis) is also a salvia. Why…

Full sun is usually described as six to eight hours of sunlight per day. But some gardens may be sunny eight, 10 or even 12 hours a day—blazing hot sun. Fortunately, there are perennials that thrive in extreme sun and the dryness that tends to go with it. I started thinking about extreme sun plants…