Of all the tough plants that keep on keeping on right through the dry heat of summer, salvias could be the toughest. Some just won’t give up. Abandon them to go on holiday, shower them with neglect on your return, entirely forget you even have them and they might start to flag but it’s unlikely they will all-out die.

And then, when the temperature drops and rains fall, they will bounce back as perky as they ever were. It’s like magic.

Salvia ‘Amethyst’ pictured for Semmler’s book ‘Super Bloom: A Field Guide to Flowers for Every Gardener’ (Thames & Hudson)Credit:Sarah Pannell

Salvia ‘Finngrove’, Salvia ‘African Sky’, Salvia leucantha and Salvia africana-lutea have really put in their all for me this January and they have asked for very little – well, nothing – in return.

And they are just the beginning of what is possible. While avid salvia collector Meg Bentley irrigates the 200-odd salvias she keeps in pots, she never irrigates the hundreds more she has growing in the ground in her garden in Gruyere in the Yarra Valley. Her only exception is for those salvias that were planted in the past spring and are still getting established in her clay soil.

Salvia viscosa photographed for Semmler’s book ‘Super Bloom’Credit:Sarah Pannell

But from the outset she does cajole them along. She plants them deep (“like a tomato”), mulches them well and is careful with her placement. Salvias from Mediterranean climates go in full sun on top of her hill while salvias hailing from cooler climates are planted in part shade on the lower side of the hill – where they still have good drainage.

“I train them to be hardy from the start. I rely on tank water so I don’t have an unlimited water supply but I find watering, especially overhead watering, in the heat of summer doesn’t help anyway because the atmosphere is so hot.”

Salvia discolour pictured in Semmler’s book ‘Super Bloom’Credit:Sarah Pannell

Even if leaves wilt, she holds off. But it can be a game of nerves and, while everything from Salvia bullulata with its fetching turquoise flowers to Salvia ‘Timboon’ that grows tall enough to be planted as a low hedge, to Salvia discolour with its silver leaves and dramatic purple-black flowers is hardy for her, this no-irrigation approach won’t work for everyone. It will depend on your soil and how much moisture it retains, how much rain you get, how acclimatised your salvias are to your garden and where you place them.

Jac Semmler, author of the recent book Super Bloom: A Field Guide to Flowers for Every Gardener who says if she were “only allowed to grow one group of plants it would absolutely be Salvia”, plies her salvias with infrequent but deep watering.

She especially likes to do it before a run of hot weather “to get in early” and to encourage roots to go down deep into her soil, which is sandy in some parts and clay in others. In her Frankston garden, she also applies a thick mulch (between 70mm and 100mm) of quality compost to ensure her soil retains moisture, regularly deadheads spent flowers and tip prunes to reduce the amount of foliage requiring water.

And she keeps close tabs. When she starts to see signs of wilting – whether it’s Salvia ‘African Sky’, Salvia ‘Rubin’, Salvia ‘Caradonna’ or any other of the many, salvias she grows – she knows “it’s time for another deep water”. “I am a little cautious of wilting because it’s easy to go from wilting to crispy.”

But salvias aren’t just for summer. They might all be part of the mint family, Lamiaceae, but salvias come from a diversity of climates, flower in different seasons and sport a wide range of forms, heights, textures and colours. Some are edible (common sage or Salvia officinalis being just the start) or medicinal and some (such Salvia elegans ‘Pineapple Sage’ ) make great companion plants in the vegetable garden because of the beneficial insects they attract. Birds love salvias too.

But perhaps the greatest boon of a salvia is how very easy it is to turn one plant into several. When the weather cools and we start moving into autumn, you can take cuttings from most salvias or divide herbaceous perennial ones. But be warned: once you start you won’t be able to stop.

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