Celebrate “culture” in agriculture & share skills like growing, cooking, canning

Purple Flower-pond

This guy appeared at the edge of my pond in Berkeley CA. I'd love any insights as to what it is. I believe it is some kind of salvia, and thankfully it's one of the few plants (so it seems) that my chickens won't eat. Any ideas?

View Full Size

Tags:

Comment

You need to be a member of HOMEGROWN to add comments!

Join HOMEGROWN

Comment by Barbara Tien on July 31, 2012 at 1:17pm: Hey, Cornelia, thanks for the quick reply. I'm impressed. Yes the range of Salvia out there does make it hard to ID. I don't think it is catnip specifically because it's not quite the same as the catnip I am growing and because... well, my catnip connoisseur kitties aren't impressed by it. I have discovered the benefits of strong-flavored leaves as a means to keep the chickens at bay. I've added salvia and sage to my garden for just that reason.

Comment by Cornelia on July 31, 2012 at 1:07pm: Barbara, I agree it looks like a Salvia. There are thousands of varieties, so which salvia would be tough. The leaves also look like catmint, which may be too strong of a flavor for the chickens. Does it have an aroma?