Monday 5 November 2018

Texas Sage (Leucophyllum frutescens)



Texas Sage is not indigenous to Barbados, but it can be found thriving in gardens all over the island, and I could not resist including it here. Just one look at the photo will tell you why.

Texas Sage is a shrub with a tiny leaf that is more grey than green. It prefers somewhere that is sheltered from the wind, but gets good sunlight and rain. The one pictured here is in a garden that experiences high wind for most of the year, but the shrub itself is tucked behind a structure, so from mid-morning until late afternoon it is in the sun, it gets runoff from the roof when there is rain and is exposed to little wind. And it is just magnificent when covered in flowers, which usually appear after there has been some rain, seemingly overnight.

In the dry season, it does not need to be watered very often, just a little to keep going, but as soon as rain comes, it transforms to this magnificent purple and grey ball of colour that the bees and butterflies love. You cannot help but smile and feel better when face with a flowering Texas Sage.

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