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Garden Sage
(Salvia officinalis)
"Salvia" means health or salvation.
The word "officinalis" is an old reference to something
medical.The word comes from "officina",
originally meaning a workshop or shop, but later meant a storeroom in a
monastery, then an herb-store, pharmacy or drugstore!
Even before researching this plant we should be able to guess that sage
was used for a lot more than turkey stuffing in years past.
Garden Sage is not a native plant. It hails from the Mediterranean region. 
A saying from the early Middle Ages goes:Why should a man die when sage flourishes in his garden?
Gerard, the famous herbalist, wrote around 1595 that sage "is singularly good for the head and brain, it quickeneth the senses and memory, strengtheneth the sinews, restoreth health to those that have the palsy, and taketh away shakey trembling of the members". With some additional detail this opinion was held by other for hundreds of years more.
Besides drinking sage tea to help digestion and many other things nowadays, they say rubbing it on your teeth will keep them white and a strong sage tea can be used to dye your gray hairs darker! Sage is used most in food in modern times. Check any cookbook for suggestions on how to flavor cheese, wine, breads, marinades, stuffings and more.
The sage plant can vary in the way it looks. Some get color in their leaves. If you have a plant you really like the looks of you should divide it to make more. The seeds cannot be relied on to produce a plant that looks like its parent. Whatever you gather sage leaves for do not gather them too late in the year or your plant may die over the winter. September is the latest safe time, and only take tips. Dry the leaves in the shade until crisp.
If our sage does not look happy we will dig it up and improve the soil more as it likes a well-aerated (fluffy) soil.
Summer 2000:
The sage was happy and bloomed wonderfully.
The crinkly green foliage in this photo belongs to the mint planted next to the sage.
The empty calyx above do not show much ,if any, purple. The photo was from last year, while the flower photos are from June, summer 2000. I think I have the photos attributed to the right plant....keep this in mind though if something looks fishy. I'll be going out and double checking later in July.
to Pineapple Sage to Argentea Sage
Study Pointers:
- Compare the leaves of this sage to other sages. Touch them gently and use a hand lens (magnifying glass) to see them better.
- Of the Mint Family plants, sages share some features common to other Mint Family species. One of these is a tendency to have a square stem! Find the sages and mints and the monarda to feel the stems. Do you know what plant in our garden has a triangular stem?
Write me when you give up...or if you find it (it is mentioned in this web site and is in the garden near where you can sit ..hint...) write me and tell me and you will get credit for being an observant and/or persevering student of nature.
- So far no one has written in or handed me a note...
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