By Lori Rose
Here’s a description of the perfect garden plant—a beautiful perennial that grows up to three feet tall and wide and comes in a variety of leaf and flower colors, and is edible. Imagine it in your perennial border, herb or vegetable garden, even in containers. No plant can be all of the above, right? Wrong. Allow me to introduce sage.
Native to the Mediterranean region of southern Europe, sage is a strongly flavored, aromatic evergreen sub-shrub of the mint family. Garden sage (Salvia officinalis) is the most common of the many varieties of green sage and is most often used for culinary purposes. This variety produces purple flowers and gray-green leaves which have a rough, woolly texture. The drier the weather, the grayer the leaves will be. The flowers are clustered together in whorls around the stem tops. The name salvia is from Latin salvere meaning to heal.
At one time sage tea was a popular drink. The Chinese once preferred it to their local teas and exchanged their product with the Dutch for sage tea, bartering on the basis of weight for weight. Sage tea is recommended as a gargle for sore throats and hoarseness. The ancient Greeks and Romans used it as a meat preservative, and they also believed that it could enhance memory. Tenth century Arabs believed it could extend life to the point of immortality. After the Crusades, this belief showed up in Europe as well. Medicinally, sage has the unique property among herbs of reducing perspiration. In Italy, sage was believed to preserve health, and country folk would eat bread and butter sandwiches filled with sage leaves. (Don’t be afraid to try it—it’s good!)
English herbalists believed that sage plants would prosper or fail as the owner's business prospered or failed. It was also said that sage would grow vigorously in any garden where the wife rules the house. It was common then for the husband to prune the garden ruthlessly to destroy any evidence of his subservience. So, keep your sage plants healthy and hide them from the hubby.
Garden sage will grow in almost any well-drained soil in a sunny spot, reaching a height and width of up to three feet. Other varieties include golden sage which has gold tipped leaves; variegated leaf sage which has green leaves flecked with cream; and tricolor sage which produces gray-green leaves speckled with white, purple and pink. These are lovely as accents or grouped together in the garden or container plantings. The golden, purple and tricolor forms also may be used for cooking, but they are not as hardy or flavorful as the green garden sage. Sage continues to grow well with frequent clippings, taking leaves as needed. Prune it down by about one-third after it has flowered to stimulate growth. The leaves make an attractive garnish.
Grow sage with broccoli and other members of the cabbage family. Sage is protective to cabbages and all their relatives against the white cabbage butterfly, and it also makes the cabbage plants more succulent and tasty. It is good to grow with carrots, protecting them against the carrot fly, whose larva attacks rootlets of young plants. Do not plant sage with cucumber, which does not like aromatic herbs in general and sage in particular.
If you’d like to pot some up for the winter windowsill, sow seeds in separate pots or an area of the garden in late spring to early summer. They will still be young and vigorous when you bring them indoors. Don’t forget to de-bug them with Neem oil or other systemic insecticide before bringing them indoors.
You can take sage cuttings any time throughout the growing season. When taking cuttings from an established plant, select newer growth towards the top of the plant rather than older woody growth closer to the bottom. Use clean scissors to cut the stem about four inches long. Be sure the stem has at least two leaf nodes (where leaves grow from the stem). Remove the leaves from the lower two inches of the stem and plant them two inches apart in potting soil. Roots should form in two to three weeks.
Sage is widely used in Italian cooking and is a delicious flavoring for sausage, pork, duck and poultry stuffing. Sage helps make meats more digestible. It cuts the richness and fattiness of pork, goose, duck, veal, and other heavy meats. It is also good with rabbit (if you are so inclined), eggs, cheeses, beans, onions, tomatoes, risotto, salads, and pickles. Did I miss anything?
Use long stems of sage leaves as a brush to marinate meats on the grill, or lay them over the coals to impart a lovely flavor to barbecued meats, fish, and vegetables.
Fresh sage can be frozen—place small sprigs in plastic bags to freeze for up to two months. It can also be dried - simply tie a small bundle of stems together and hang them upside down in a cool, dry place. Although fresh sage has a prominent lemon zest flavor that is lost in drying, fresh sage has a milder flavor than dry so you can use more. Check the recipe when deciding whether to use fresh or dried sage. They taste very different and do not really substitute well for one another.
Try this sage pesto recipe from the book Pestos! Cooking with Herb Pastes by Dorothy Rankin for a unique summer supper.
Sage Pesto
1/2-cup fresh sage leaves
1 1/2 cups fresh parsley leaves
2 large garlic cloves
1/2-cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/2-cup pine nuts or walnuts
1/2-cup olive oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Combine sage, parsley, garlic, cheese and nuts in food processor or blender. Process to mix. With the machine running, slowly add the olive oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper and process to desired consistency. Let stand for 15 minutes before serving.
Yield about 1 cup.
You can simply use the pesto on your favorite pasta or grilled chicken, or try this delicious recipe with fresh green beans.
Green Bean Sage Pesto Pasta Sauce
1 1/4 cups fresh breadcrumbs (from light whole wheat bread if possible)
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups slender fresh young green beans cut in 1/2-inch dice
4-6 tablespoons Sage Pesto (recipe above)
1 tablespoon butter
1/4 cup finely diced sweet yellow or red peppers (or finely julienned sun-dried tomatoes)
Salt and freshly ground pepper
One pound pasta, cooked al dente
Preheat oven to 300 F. Cut the crusts from a good homemade-type bread and cut into chunks. Process briefly in a food processor or crumble into fine crumbs by hand. Spread out the crumbs on a large flat pan and toast in the oven until lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Toss with the olive oil while still hot.
Steam the green beans until barely tender, 5-6 minutes. Toss with the pesto and butter while hot.
Add the toasted breadcrumbs, diced peppers (or sun-dried tomatoes), salt and pepper to taste.
Toss with hot pasta and garnish with fresh sage leaves.
In the garden, sage is an old-fashioned, easy-going, colorful plant. On the table, sage will add a gourmet touch to just about any dish you can imagine. Meet sage at your local garden center and you’ll become fast friends for life.
Lori Rose, the Midnight Gardener, is a Temple University Certified Master Home Gardener and member of GardenComm: Garden Communicators International. She has gardened since childhood, and has been writing about gardening for over twenty years.