Stunning salvias at Great Comp Garden, near Sevenoaks

The versatility of salvias is embraced at Great Comp Garden, near Sevenoaks, where William Dyson, the UK’s leading salvia expert, has been growing these ornamental plants for over 25 years

William has a passion for growing salvias. (Image: Leigh Clapp) Salvias are interwoven in the planting palette of Great Comp garden in St Mary’s Platt, mingling with other late-season colour from annuals, perennials, bulbs and ornamental grasses in this fine landscape, complete with its own eccentric, romantic ruins. Their richly intense shades combine strikingly with a blaze of bright red dahlias, golden rudbeckias, and amethyst Michaelmas daisies in one bed, while another area may be more subtle, with jewel-box-toned salvias offset by the parchment-like seed heads of miscanthus, mesmerising in the breeze. The genus salvia actually contains a staggering 900 species, some of which are the most highly ornamental in the entire plant kingdom. Wandering around the gardens is an inspiration for anyone who loves them. Great Comp's gardener curator, William Dyson - the UK's leading expert on the plant - has a particular passion for varieties from the New World, with their summer-to-autumn presence in a myriad of colours a delight.

The autumnal meld of colour at Great Comp. (Image: Leigh Clapp) Due to the sandy soil and mild climate, Great Comp's seven-acres offers the ideal conditions for salvia-growing, and William has been able to build a superb collection at his nursery situated within Great Comp garden. At the same time, his expertise and enthusiastic promotion have revolutionised how salvias are perceived in the UK. William has bred his own hybrids, many of which have been trialled at RHS Wisley and displayed at RHS shows with great success, producing a multitude of flowers and surviving through Kent’s winters.

Salvias and dahlias combine beautifully. (Image: Leigh Clapp) The nectar-rich blooms of salvias range from white, grey, orange, yellow, pink, scarlet and blue to the deepest purples, making them useful in any colour palette. Most salvias also have tactile, aromatic foliage. Some are hardy, others more tender; all will give you weeks of flowers, making them well-worth adding to your garden. ‘There is an intensity of flower colour seldom equalled in other genera and some are hardy here in the southern counties of Britain, while others are tender and require glasshouse protection over winter,' says William. 'At Dyson’s Nurseries our main interest lies in the New World species and cultivars, those from Mexico and the southern states of the USA.'

Salvias pair well with ornamental grasses. (Image: Leigh Clapp) William stocks a wide selection of shrubby, hardy, half herbaceous, half hardy and tender varieties at his nursery, and gives customers lots of tips for ones to choose for the best success in their own conditions. ‘People should grow more salvias. They're easy: you just need well-drained soil in a sunny spot. They repay you with a long flowering season and are a great source of nectar for bees and other insects,’ he enthuses. William continues to breed new forms and, when chatting to him, his enthusiasm couldn't be clearer. He’s as excited by salvias as he was when he was first enticed by seeing Salvia x jamensis brought back by plant collectors from Mexico in 1995. ‘This was a pivotal point for me. I managed to get hold of a few plants and they were fantastic here, with masses of flowers for months. I then went about getting whatever salvias I could get my hands on.’ Come to Great Comp and William's nursery this autumn, and marvel at just where that initial passion has led him.

Enjoy the folly ruins too (Image: Leigh Clapp) To know

• Great Comp Garden, St Mary’s Platt TN15 8QS

March 25 to October 31 (11-5)

Adults £10, concessions £9, children £3.50

RHS members free in September and October

greatcompgarden.co.uk

• If you wish to visit Dyson's Nurseries at Great Comp, there is no admission charge

Unrivalled collection of over 250 salvias and also many of the plants grown in the garden

Open daily to Oct 31 (10-5)

dysonsalvias.com

• Autumn Fair – Bulbs ‘N’ Things, Oct 12 -13

NGS Day Oct 27, £9.50

The nursery stocks a wide choice. (Image: Leigh Clapp) Get the look

• The perennial varieties have become particularly popular as there are so many that cope with the UK climate, such as the bi-colour crimson and white ‘Hot Lips’

• Salvias are sun-loving plants

• Grow in well-drained soil

• Drought-tolerant

• They do not like to be starved, so give them a potassium-rich feed, such as tomato fertiliser

• Easy to propagate by softwood cuttings in spring

• Prune twice a year for shape and extra flowering

• Give the shrubby varieties a good prune in summer, to encourage fresh growth and more flowers.

• With ones that stay out in the garden, don’t cut back until spring when growth starts, as this helps to protect them over winter

• If you can’t provide the right conditions for salvias, growing in containers makes them a moveable feast and you can pop them in the greenhouse to overwinter

• Bees adore the flowers and actually drill holes in the side to reach the nectar

• Combine them with ornamental grasses, sedum, dahlias, geraniums, crocosmia, helenium, Nicotiana mutabilis and Verbena bonariensis

• Salvias work well in herbaceous schemes, also tropical or exotic schemes

• They cope well in windy and coastal conditions

Cambridge Blue (Image: Leigh Clapp) Five top salvias

• richly purple ‘Caradonna’

• bright blue S. patens ‘Cambridge Blue’

• carmine ‘Silke’s Red’

• deep purple ‘Amistad’

• two-toned pink ‘Dyson’s Joy’

Salvia nemerosa 'Caradonna' is a popular choice. (Image: Leigh Clapp) Intensely brilliant 'Silke's Red' (Image: Leigh Clapp) 'Amistad' is a stunning choice. (Image: Leigh Clapp) Pretty in pink: 'Dyson's Joy' (Image: Leigh Clapp)