Salvia officinalis LABIATAE
Here is another-herb of Jupiter, bringing long life, with an active old age and all faculties in good working order. Sage is well named, coming from the Latin salvere, to save, and cultures much older (and perhaps wiser) than ours used it as a daily beverage, just as we drink tea.
The Chinese drank sage tea as often as possible, and their early records show how high a value was placed on its health-giving properties. Indeed, 4 lb. of China tea was exchanged by Chinese merchants with Britain for every pound of sage tea grown in England. Both countries were well-pleased with the deal. I wonder which one really had the best of the bargain?
The herb is low-growing, to about 1 foot in height, and is a compact, rather bushy plant. Its greyish-green leaves, with the rough texture of a cat’s tongue, make good teeth-cleaners, and at Tunbridge Wells they are given to spa clients to clean their teeth after taking the discolouring mineral waters. The flowers are deep purple bells, produced in spring, but if you want the herb for the table, nip off the flowering stems when they appear. The seeds are rather large for a small plant, round black balls which can be slow to germinate. Keep the seed box rather drier than usual. This will often start the seedlings on their way. You can soak the seed in warm water if you wish, to soften the hard outer shell before planting.
Sage needs an alkaline soil, so use plenty of dolomite and scatter a handful through the topsoil when preparing a place for the plants. Hot sun and dryness will give you a sturdy bush in a very short time, but watch for any sign of “wet feet” in prolonged wet weather, and move your plant to a drier location. Sage can be a bit pernickety and will sometimes shrivel and die almost overnight for no apparent reason if the weather or soil conditions are not to its liking. Caterpillars are very fond of it, and must be picked off before they can strip the leaves. Dried sage leaves do not keep their flavour as well as most dry herbs, so pick them fresh if you can for culinary use.
*128\181\8*
Related Posts:
Tags: Herbal
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.