Salvia melissodora

Salvia melissodora, the grape-scented sage, is a woody Mexican shrub grown for a scent as much as a flower, since the small lavender-blue blooms carry an unmistakable perfume of grape soda that drifts on warm air. Native to the Sierra Madre from Chihuahua south to Oaxaca, at four to eight thousand feet, the plant flowers in long spikes from late spring right through to frost, an exceptionally long and fragrant season.

The plant builds a rounded, woody shrub, to six feet in the wild but nearer three feet high and wide in most gardens, clothed in soft, aromatic, gray-green leaves. The species name melissodora points to the bee-sweet scent, from the Greek for honeybee, and the flowers live up to it, nectar-rich and thronged all season by bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds.

The grape-scented sage carries a second name, tarahumara, after the Tarahumara people of the Sierra Madre, who have used the leaves and seeds of the plant for medicinal purposes for several hundred years, a tradition touched on in the fields below.

Site Salvia melissodora in a hot, sunny, well-drained spot near a path, a seat, or an open window where the grape fragrance can be caught, in a xeric border, a pollinator planting, or a large container. Pair with other sun-and-drought lovers such as agastache and salvias, give sharp drainage, and cut back in late winter to keep the shrub dense. Drought tolerant once established, and one of the most fragrant salvias a warm garden can grow.