Lepechinia hastata

If it looks like a salvia, flowers like a salvia, and even smells like a salvia...it must be Lepechinia hastata. This salvia relative is native to Baja California, Mexico but is amazingly winter hardy in NC. The large, deliciously-scented, spade-like, felty green leaves adorn the stalk that grows upright. In late summer it tops out at 4'+ with see-through flower spikes, composed of red-lavender lipstick-like flowers...a hummingbird treat. Lepechinia hastata is a great late season garden perennial...especially for a crowded border.