‘Strawberry Melba’ is a neat perennial salvia that builds up into a bushy dome of scented, silvery-green leaves. Its upright stems hold large two-tone flowers ranging from pink to pinky-purple, and they appear in succession from spring until autumn. Removing the spent spikes helps the display last longer.
At roughly 50cm high and wide, it’s well suited to a border edge, a cottage garden bed or a patio pot. It likes sun or part shade, a bit of shelter and light soil that drains freely – it won’t tolerate sitting in water. It’s only reliably hardy in milder and coastal parts of the UK, so taking a few cuttings and moving the plant under cover for winter is a sensible precaution.