A blue that isn’t blue, violet that isn’t a violet, and a sage that is wise only in the ways of nature

Say hello to Salvia farinacea, called mealy blue sage, even though it’s not blue but violet. (If these flowers were blue, then what color would the sky behind them be? And of the many flowers that are this hue, how did the violet get to impose its name on the color of all of them?)

Add this to the native species you’ve seen here recently that have bloomed well before their customary time, which in the case of mealy blue sage is April and May. I photographed this one on February 19 at the Mueller Greenway in east-central Austin.

© 2012 Steven Schwartzman