This is a shot of a rare Salvia clevelandii ‘Winifred Gillman’ blooming with both blue and white flowers. It is sometimes referred to as a Betsy Clebsch variety, but after several years it proved unstable and reverted to the usual all-blue blooms.

The Salvia ‘Terra Secca’ covers lots of ground with pebbled, lush-colored, evergreen leaves and sends up little white flower spikes in the spring.

Salvia ‘Bees Bliss’ forms a handsome, low-growing mat of soft grey foliage and sends up purple-lavender blooms in spring.

The desert sage, Salvia dorrii, takes extreme hot and dry. In spring it blooms with rich, bright blue flowers.

Salvia canariensis forms a 5′ x 5′ shrub thick with flowers.

Penstemon centranthifolius (CA native) blazes out in red among lower growing salvias

The small, neat-growing Salvia chamaedryoides offers pure sky-blue flowers for the garden that accent its soft silvery little leaves.

The Salvia greggii plants are bred in an assortment of colors. They are versatile and waterwise. Look for colors in reds, yellows, whites, pinks, and purples.

The Mexican sage or Salvia Leucantha has a purple and a purple and white variety. It grows up to 8′ in width and 4 – 5′ high — an eye-catcher when in bloom.