Mexican bush sage

* Common name: Mexican bush sage

* Botanical name: Salvia leucantha

* What it is: A silvery-leafed, purple-blooming perennial in warmer climates, but here it’s a bushy annual that flowers spectacularly in late summer when most other flowers are petering out. Frost then kills it.

* Size: Can grow 3 feet tall and wide by summer’s end.

* Where to use: Perennial borders are perfect or as a specimen here and there in a mixed garden. Also will do pots. Best in full sun.

* Care: Work a little compost and timed-release flower fertilizer into the soil at planting in mid to late May. Then just keep it watered for the first few weeks after planting and in droughty weather. That’s it. Just wait for the late-summer to early-fall show.

* Great partner: Scabiosa (pincushion flower) ‘Butterfly Blue’ will bloom powdery blue in front while you’re waiting for Mexican bush sage to color up. Rose or pink annual vinca also pair well.