Salvia Sclarea 'Piemont'

Salvia sclarea 'Piemont' blooming now in my garden with Verbascum bombyciferum and Echium wildpretii

Closeup of Salvia sclarea 'Piemont' flower

     I have an area in front of my house that is by the front door.  This is a different area from my front border that I have been writing about recently.  However, since it is in front of my house, it is subject to being eaten by deer, so everything I plant here must be deer resistant.  For many years there were three birch trees in this spot, but we took them out a few years ago because they were too close to the house and because they were subject to infestations of tent caterpillars.  After we took the trees out, I had the border completely emptied of its other plants, and 10 yards of sandy loam added to make a nice raised bed that gets sun all morning.
     I finally got around to planting this bed last year, and one of the plants I chose for this spot was Salvia sclarea 'Piemont' which I got from Annies Annuals.  I planted three of these last summer.  Only one of them made it through the winter, and the pictures above show what it looks like.  This is supposed to be a biennial which sets copious amounts of seed, so I am hoping for lots of little baby salvias.  Anyway, I think this plant will make a nice addition to my repertoire of deer resistant, drought tolerant plants.