Wednesday Garden Pic: Miniature Roses & Blue Salvia

For photos, I have two today:

First, a nice shot of some of my miniature roses that are in the front corner bed near that large pot with the ceramic cat in it. You can see a couple of my Hoosier rocks. I have a small ring of them around  a pair of miniture roses: one light pink, one dark pink. And by "Hooiser rocks" I mean I toted them here from Indiana. The property we grew on had a valley with a rocky stream as the bottom that Mother and us 3 girls were haul stones up from for Mother's rock garden. Then later, my younger sister, Pat, carted a bunch of those to her home in Terre Haute. Eventually, Mother moved to Terre Haute also and when Pat sold that house, the pile of pretty, garden-sized stones moved to Mother's house. Finally, on a visit home, I decided to haul about 10 here to Florida for my flower bed. So, you see, they are traveling rocks.

Second is a photo of Blue Salvia. It's cousin to the showier Red Salvia and you can buy either at any Lowe's or Walmart or other garden shop. However, these yard flowers are perfectly harmless for decoration only. The disreputable sort of Salvia people want for unhealthy purposes is native to Mexico and South American and not sold at Lowe's. Let's be clear about that.
 The common d garden shop type Salvia is a member of the mint family, but lacks the intrusive, spreading nature of other mint types.
They are considered "annuals," but, at least, the red, in my experience, self-seeds readily. However, for me here in Florida, they remain perennial. The red completely dies back in winter, then usually re-sprouts anew from root in spring---most of the time. Sometimes they don't make it. A couple I have in pots are 2 or 3 years old and of 4 I had planted along the back of the house, 2 came back.
The blue, unlike the red, doesn't die back, but remains green thru-out winter, though it doesn't bloom until spring again. Rather then self-seed, it is just getting bushier.
I have a thing for collecting things that bloom in blue, which is why I bought the Blue Salvia, though it is more purplish. Still it looks nice blooming in symphony with the Siberian Iris.
Decorative salvia needs to be dead-headed to keep it blooming. It perfers full sun, but can manage in part-sun if that part-sun is more sun then shade.

A final word of advice on choosing pots to plant for your yard, which I learned in a pot-garden seminar:

For pot-gardens you intend to place in predominantly sunny spots: choose plastic or resin pots, becasue they won't retain heat like cement or ceramic. Cement, ceramic or clay in the sun will cook the roots of your plants.
For pot-gardens you intend to place in predominantly shady areas: you may use ceramic, cement, clay, resin or plastic, because all of it will stay cool.

Also make sure any ceramic or cement pot you choose allow bottom drainage. It doesn't matter how cute it looks on the outside if it's only going to kill your plant by drowning.
 You can drill suitable drainage holes in plastic or resin pots, if they don't come with their own.