May-Grey and June-Gloom Come with Salvia-Scented Breezes
May 2026. LA never stops blooming! Still, we’ve got to admit May is a bit extra. Native plants still fill a bit tipsy from drinking in rainy season. The wand like blooms of our native salvias sway with spring breezes, enticing nectar-thirsty hummingbirds, bees and butterflies to swirl and circle around them. Think of what’s Blooming Now as LA’s reminder to stop and smell the salvia!
Here are reasons to pause and drink in the distinctive perfume of LA in May:
Lowest Growing: Bee’s Bliss
Want the fragrance of a native sage but don’t have the space for a full size White or Cleveland Sage? Bee’s Bliss may be just right for you! Foliage and blooms rarely reach more than 2 feet high, so it is perfect in areas where you need visibility or a lower-mass option.
Pro Tip: Plant Bee’s Bliss in areas that need low growers. It will bring butterflies, birds and Western Fence Lizards as well as bees. Dead head for more blooms, or leave architectural seed heads for the birds.
Most Flexible: Hummingbird Sage
Where won’t Hummingbird Sage grow? Asking for a friend… She seems to succeed everywhere! In riparian spaces. Shade. Sun. Cracks in the pavement. She has the will, and she will find a way to make your day!
Pro-Tip: Hummingbird Sage spreads herself slowly – and she’ll happily pick-up and move to where you’d like her too. Just select a plant and take a few of her brightly colored rhizomes with it. Then, water her into her new home.
Most Fragrant: Cleveland Sage
We think we can smell Cleveland Sage through the car door every time we visit the City of Sierra Madre this time of year. She’s not only the most fragrant, her fragrance seems to more universally please. It’s minty without being sweet, earthy without being savory. It’s perfect. Just perfect.
Pro Tip: Cleveland Sage can be low maintenance, but she’s no shrinking flower. Make sure she has room to grow to her full size without interference from other plants, walkways, or structures. Otherwise, you’ll forever feel the need to clip her back, and eventually she’ll resent you for it.
Most Sacred: White Sage
Of all the California native sages, White Sage may be the most recognizable by her fragrance alone, as her dried leaves are used to make smudges for room clearing and ceremony. Often called Sacred Sage, she is the most-most overall as well. The most drought-thriving leaves, the most magical wand-like blooms, the most silvery foliage.
Pro Tip: Like her sister Cleveland, Sacred Sage needs plenty of room. To keep her from getting woody, provide a good trim as temperatures cool in fall – it will keep her foliage flexible and hydrated.
More Blooms
Of course, almost everything blooms in April! We mentioned just these ironically named few here – we share what we see as we see it in our Bloom Stories in Instagram. You can save our in-garden favorites from our Blooming Now Boards in Pinterest or collect ideas in Houzz, where we post our go-to California Native Plants.
Of course, our favorite option is to get outside! To meet these beauties live and in-person join us on tour or visit one of our demonstration gardens.
