Native to the Mediterranean, sage is cultivated all around the world, thriving in sunny conditions. In all there are about 700 varieties of Salvia. The many different kinds of sage, include the all familiar garden sage, salvia officinalis, Pineapple sage, salvia elegans, red sage, salvia splendens, clary sage, salvia sclarea, tricolor sage,salvia tricolor, golden sage, a variegated form and many more. Garden Sage, salvia fficinalis, is the most common and frequently grown. It is a hardy perennial that grows to a height of 24 to 30 inches.
Leaves are grayish green and oval, with a coarse hairy surface covered with small bumps.
Purple, flowers appear on tall spikes in early summer. Albiflora has tall spikes of white flowers. Aurea or golden sage, has a compact habit and variegated yellow foliage, Tricolor has variegated leaves of white, purplish red and pink. Pineapple sage has light green leaves with a delightfully strong pineapple fragrance. It produces scarlet flowers in the fall.