GINA PARKINSON finds that there is more to sage that you might imagine.

MOST cooks will have sage in their herb garden and its bright red-flowered relative is popular in summer bedding schemes. But the genus is much larger than this and includes a wide range of less well-known herbaceous perennials.

These are grown for their usually aromatic leaves and spikes of flowers that attract numerous insects. Some are tender and need to be kept in a frost-free position over winter, while others will survive cold temperatures as long as they are in a sheltered spot in well-drained soil.

Salvia sylvestris 'Blauhugel' is long lasting with powdery-blue flowers from June to August and lance-shaped leaves. It grows up to 70cm high with a similar spread.

Salvia sylvestris 'Mainacht' (sometimes labelled 'May Night') is also long flowering and reliable with dark indigo flowers. Smaller growing 'Rose Queen' from the same species has pink flowers and grey-green foliage, while 'Blaukonigin' is violet blue.

These four varieties should survive the winter in most gardens, a trial run by Gardening Which three years ago found them to be hardy in sites in Glasgow, Beverley, Leeds, Enfield and Dorchester.

Salvia verticillata is also reliably hardy and long flowering, carrying violet blue spikes of bloom into October, with the bracts keeping the colour going long after the flowers have faded. 'Purple Rain' has deeper purple flowers while 'Alba' forms a low mound of hairy leaves with white flowers in mid-summer.

While most sages prefer well drained soil there is an exception to the rule with the Bog sage, Salvia uliginosa, a graceful tall-growing species that is sometimes recommended for the back of a moist bed.

Here its long stems can be supported by other plants, especially after a heavy summer shower. Reaching up to two metres, Salvia uliginosa has lance-shaped, saw-edged mid-green leaves and bright blue flowers that can last into November, depending on the weather. Not reliable in a severe winter, it is a good idea to propagate a few plants from rhizome sections taken form the mother plant. Keep them in a cool, frost free place then harden off and plant out when the weather begins to warm up in spring.

Updated: 15:54 Friday, July 18, 2003