Ok, I admit it -- I'm a sucker for Salvia! This maintenance-free plant gets me every time. I've always had some variety in my garden and this year is no different.

There are over 900 varieties on record of Salvia, and it's available as both perennial and annual.

Perennial salvia, also known as sage (pictured above), is available in several cultivars, grown for the summer show of violet-purple spikes of bloom on plants that reach 2 to 3 feet tall. The cultivar "May Night" is distinguished by having dark violet-blue flower spikes on a more dwarf plant, reaching about 18 to 24 inches tall. I happen to have three of these and have transplanted them a few times over the years. They always come back bigger and better than before. If it gets too tall, cut it back in midsummer. The plant will come back bushier with more blooms in the fall. It likes full sun to partial shade.

The annual salvias come in different colors such as red, lavendar, coral and even white. It also comes in different sizes and leaf shapes. This hardy plant often reseeds itself. As seen here, it's coming up all over my garden path even though I haven't planted any new annual salvias in over three years.

My favorite annual specimens are the Lady in Red and the Coral Nymph, which is a salmon and white bicolor on compact plants. These uniform heat and drought-tolerant plants reach 2-ft. tall and bloom prolifically.

So if you're looking for something that needs no tending to at all, go for the Salvias, in any variety. You can't go wrong.

Enjoy this photo of my first Sunflower of the season. It just opened yesterday right in the middle of my new cutting garden. Everything's coming up really nicely and will be ready to make some nice arrangements for in the house.

Next up, the veggie garden update -- how's your veggie garden growing? Another look at those Earth Boxes, which are doing very well, by the way. And how about a couple of zucchini recipes, now that we are getting swamped with them?