Salvia Euphoria

Clary sage grown for its bracts. The true flowers are small and lilac, and they sit inside papery bracts of pink and pale mauve that hold their colour for weeks after the flowers have gone over. That long-standing colour is the reason to give it the room.

The first year makes a broad rosette of large, furry, strongly aromatic leaves. The second sends up spires to 100 or 120cm. The scent is musky and herbal, and you will meet it every time you brush past, which some people love and some quietly do not.

It cuts well for big loose arrangements, where it does the work of structure, and it dries reasonably. Clary sage is short-lived. Sow it every year if you want it every summer. In dry ground it seeds itself about freely, which is a bonus or a nuisance depending on how tidy you keep a border.