Russian Sage and Rue are two more plants that thrive in nearly impossible growing conditions. They also tolerate drought rather well.

Perovskia atriplicifolia

I was first introduced to Russian Sage when it was the 1995 Perennial Plant of the Year. The name is misleading because this plant comes from the rocky areas of Pakistan. It was named for a Russian General. Russian Sage is a member of the mint family which should clue you in to its ease of culture and hardiness!

The plant grows about 4-6 feet tall. It has whitish-gray, fine leaves. There are now shorter varieties available. Russian Sage is strongly scented with a camphor-like scent. It begins blooming late in July and lasts until frost giving a bluish haze to the border. This picture shows a plant of sage, flopped over after a summer shower. Now I try to keep this plant surrounded with a tomato cage to keep it from flopping. The newer varieties stay upright all season long.

Russian sage can be propagated from seeds or you can simply purchase small plants at your local nursery. They will grow fast and flower the same season. You may want to try taking cuttings too, early enough in the summer to allow ample time for rooting and getting planted out before frost returns.

Ruta graveolens

Rue is native to the Mediterranean region. It grows in ditches, on hillsides, next to old walls, and other wastelands. Rue was used as food flavoring and as medicine during the New Testament period. Today, we know it can be fatal! The Greeks and Romans believed it protected them against diseases. They spread it on floors of public buildings and walked outside carrying boquets of it in their hand to protect them from disease.

North Americans will find the cultivar, Ruta graveolens "Blue Mound" to be an attractive, bluish-green plant with bright yellow flowers from June to August. I've had a single plant growing in a narrow strip of land between a brick townehouse and an asphalt driveway where it gets covered with road salt every winter for many years. It was even uprooted last winter and returned strong after being replanted in the spring. I cut it to the ground every fall and it grows faithfully every spring. By deadheading it, I can keep it flowering through August. As with any of the plants in these perennial borders, it only receives fertilizer if I remember--no more than once a month.