“How can a man grow old who has sage in his garden?” – Ancient proverb.

Sage, Salvia officinalis

I love herbs – edible, useful, ornamental and often very easy to grow. At this time of year many, such as chives, lemon verbena and mint, have died back for the winter. Others, such as thyme, have less flavour than in summer. But sage is different – it tastes good all year round and can be picked even in the coldest weather.

Sage, like many herbs, is in the family Lamiaceae. The botanical name is Salvia, from Latin salveo, meaning ‘I save’ or ‘I heal’. There are over 700 species of Salvia across the world.

The common variety we use in cooking is Salvia officinalis. Historically, the herb has been used medicinally for almost every ailment. The Greeks used it to heal ulcers, consumption and snake bites. Modern research suggests that it could be used to treat milder forms of Alzheimer’s disease and sage tea mixed with cider vinegar makes a gargle for sore throats. However, it is toxic in large quantities and drinking sage tea for more than a couple of weeks at a time can lead to poisoning.

However, sage has a strong flavour and so you only need to add a few leaves to a recipe. Used in this way, it is safe to eat and the leaves go well with fatty meats such as pork as it helps the body to digest fats. Sage can be cooked with sausages, as in Sage and Sausage Pasta. It also goes well in vegetarian recipes and in Christmas stuffing.  The flowers petals are edible too and can be used to decorate salads.

The plain Salvia officinalis grows to 60cm high and has green-grey textured leaves. There is a slightly larger purple form (Salvia officinalis ‘Purpurascens’) and a smaller form with pink, white and purple variegated leaves (Salvia officinalis ‘Tricolor’), which grows to 40cm.

One of my favourite varieties of sage is Blackcurrant Sage (Salvia microphylla), which is tender and dies back in winter. It has pink flowers, which can be added to salads.

Another is Salvia nemorosa, a hardy variety grown as an ornamental.  There are several varieties, which will provide flowers over a prolonged period if grown together. For example, the indigo-blue flowers of Salvia nemorosa ‘Mainacht’ in May and June are followed by the violet-purple flowers of  Salvia nemorosa ‘Ostfriesland’ in July and August. Both are very attractive to bees.

Salvia microphylla

Salvia nemorosa

Many varieties of sage grow happily in containers, ideally in a sunny spot. Older plants become woody but it’s easy start a new plant by taking softwood cuttings in late spring or early summer. Plant the cuttings in a peat-free compost mixed 1:1 with grit or fine bark and they will root in about four weeks.

If you visit Grapes Hill Community Garden in Norwich you can see Salvia officinalis, Salvia officinalis ‘Purpurascens’, Salvia microphylla, Salvia nemorosa ‘Mainacht’ and Salvia nemorosa ‘Ostfriesland’.

I’d like to try growing another Salvia, Chia (Salvia hispanica), an edible, annual Mexican sage with lovely blue flowers. Mark Watson grew some last year in his conservatory in Suffolk and they flowered until November.

This blog post is adapted from an article I wrote for the November 2011 edition of the Grapes Hill Community Garden Members’ Newsletter.