Our New Salvia Bed

MOSI BioWorks was recently fortunate enough to have the fantastic help of a group of volunteers from Verizon. During two Saturday mornings, more than 15 volunteers gave their time and energy to clear several large sections of overgrown garden behind the Flight Enclosure. They removed large patches of invasive Mexican petunia along with plenty of other weeds, tilled the soil, and mixed in compost to prepare for planting.

With all the hard work done for us, planting our new salvia bed was a breeze in comparison. Nearly all kinds of salvia (commonly called sage) are fantastic nectar plants for butterflies, so we have filled this area of the garden with some of our favorite kinds including:

• Tropical Sage (Salvia coccinea) in red and pink ('Coral Nymph')
• Black and Blue Sage (Salvia guaranitica)
• Mealycup Sage (Salvia farinacea)
• Mexican Sage (Salvia leucantha) 
• Salvia microphylla 'Hot Lips'
• Russian Sage (Perovskia atriplicifolia) - not technically a salvia, but in the same family

As we come across new species, we look forward to adding them to our new bed, where butterflies are practically guaranteed all day long!