Velvety gray Sage leaves are like those of Lamb’s Ear

Standard garden Sage, the type we sell as a culinary herb, has interesting Ornamental foliage. Leaves are velvety gray—like those we find on Lamb’s Ear—but they decorate the bushy framework of an herbaceous perennial that grows about 24-inches square.

Sage does grow slowly, taking steady, measured steps on its journey to full size. Very hardy to zone 4 and nearly evergreen in the Cincinnati area, this herb emerges valiantly from the worst of a mean winter, even one that knocks off all its leaves. Wet winter soil is the only problem we’ve seen—it rots out the roots. So long as the garden drains, you are good.

Garden Sage—an Ornamental for modern American designs

Stems are green in the first year but turn woody by the second, expanding the plant to its full bulk in about two to three years. By the fourth year, new leaf and stem production slows into a maintenance rhythm. Sage favors full sun, and drier, thin soil like the type found surrounding its native Mediterranean and south European range. It can handle partial shade also.

Culinary Sage is already known as an Ornamental in traditional garden designs like herb knots, cottage gardens, and English gardens, but we think it has a place in modern American designs as well.