In a world that seems so dominated by round flowers those that have a spiky texture and rise above that imaginary horizontal plane of the flower bed are almost like gold. Plants like the blue salvias are the ones that stir excitement and even create garden memories.
The mealy cup sage is among the best at offering this stunning garden performance. If there was ever a plant that needed a better common name it is this one wonderful flower. But, Great Scott!, was "mealy cup" the best they could do? Thankfully varietal names like Victoria Blue, Cathedral Deep Blue and Evolution have become the monikers noticed when we shop at our local garden center.
All gardens need spiky plants to create interest in the flower border and a few days ago while walking around the National Butterfly Center an American Lady butterfly helped prove again why this plant is still on my top 10 list of the best garden flowers. If you can imagine a fiery orange butterfly on spike of iridescent blue blooms then you realize this is the ultimate in a complementary color scheme.
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