Salvia is the largest genus of plants in the mint family, Lamiaceae, with nearly 1000 species of shrubs, herbaceous perennials, and annuals. Within the Lamiaceae, Salvia is part of the tribe Mentheae within the subfamily Nepetoideae.
There are so many attractive and useful salvias that they would need a series of books of their own if we were to cover them all. The common characteristics of the few favourites we discuss here are their willingness to grow in almost any climate, their low water consumption, their fascinating inflorescences and their ability to repeat flower.