Clary Sage

Clary Sage is a botanical treasure house, a beautiful tall plant with strongly scented leaves and very pretty pale pink flowers with mauve bracts that are very attractive to Bumble bees and the rare Violet Carpenter bee.  It blooms from late spring into summer and thrives in sun or partial shade. The aromatic fresh and dried leaves are used as culinary sage, but in small amounts, and it is a great addition to breads and stuffing.  The flowers are also edible and are lovely scattered over a green salad or in summer drinks. Height to 1m treat as biennial  Price for 25 seeds

SPRING:  apply a generous 5cm mulch around the base of the plant.  Water with a thorough soak every now and then.

SUMMER:  follow the plant’s natural cycle and sow June to August in a tray, seed depth 5mm.   When large enough to handle pot into small pots and grow on before planting out into their sunny or part shaded position, allow 30cm spacing.  Flower spikes appear in the 2^nd year.

AUTUMN & WINTER: plants die back to soil

USES: supports WILDLIFE, very attractive to bees including the rare Violet Carpenter Bee, grow this & encourage pollinators to visit your garden.  It is EDIBLE, use small amounts: large leaves are strong flavoured.

ALL THE REASONS TO GROW CLARY SAGE

• As a nectar and pollen source for bees, to attract them to work their wonders in your garden
• For culinary use, strongly flavoured so use small amount of the large leaves
• A strong fragrance makes it a great addition to sachets or potpourris. 
• The essential oil is used as a fixative in perfumes and as a scent for lotions and detergents.
• The essential oil is used as a muscatel flavouring in beverages like vermouths, wines, and liqueurs.
• Linalyl acetate, a component found in the plant, contributes to skin soothing and the treatment of skin inflammation and skin health in general
• An infusion made with fresh or dried leaves can be added to bath water, aromatic and soothing
• Historically Clary Sage was thought to relieve eye problems (it is also known as ‘clear-eye’), digestive troubles, insomnia, depression and dandruff, and was a popular brew before black tea arrived from China.In the 12C it was thought to be an aphrodisiac.