The Space Between in the Florida Keys

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Shopping in Old Town, kayaking the mangroves, and leaving room for the day to unfold The first thing I loved about our week in the Keys was the space between the things we did. We had ideas. We knew there were shops to explore, places to eat, and water to get out on. But most mornings began with sitting around, enjoying the slow pace, and eventually asking what everyone felt like doing. Sometimes the answer depended on whether we were hungry. Sometimes it depended on what we were making for dinner. Did we need groceries? How long would dinner take to cook? Should we save room for something delicious later? These were perfectly satisfactory matters around which to arrange a day. We had exchanged our usual responsibilities for the question of whether lunch might interfere with dinner. An excellent trade. Our one fixed appointment was Tuesday’s anniversary sail. Around it, the week had room to breathe. A starfish clip on Petronia Street One shopping wander took us to Petronia Street in Ba...
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Garden Sage: Fragrant, Useful, and Worth Growing

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 Why Sage Is One of the Best Herbs to Keep in Your Garden


There are some plants in the garden that are lovely.

And then there are plants that are lovely and useful.

Sage is one of those.

It comes back, it grows generously, it smells wonderful when you brush past it, and it gives you something to bring into the house long after the summer flowers begin to fade. If I had to choose one herb that earns its keep in both the garden and the kitchen, sage would be high on the list.

For me, sage is one of those plants that feels both practical and beautiful. Its soft gray-green leaves are handsome in the garden, its flowers are pretty, and even a small bundle cut from the plant feels like something special on the counter.

This year, mine grew with such enthusiasm that what began as a perfectly respectable herb plant became a rather substantial sage situation. So, before cold weather arrives, I’ve been cutting bundles, bringing them into the kitchen, and figuring out exactly what I’m going to do with all of it.

But sage is more than just pretty.

Sage may be one of the most underrated plants in the garden.

It’s handsome. It smells wonderful. It comes back year after year in many climates. It can be propagated easily from divisions, layering, or cuttings. Its flowers attract bees and butterflies. And once you bring it into the kitchen, it becomes remarkably useful. Wisconsin Horticulture describes common garden sage (Salvia officinalis) as an aromatic perennial subshrub that is hardy across a broad range of growing zones and has been cultivated for culinary and medicinal purposes for centuries. 

Not bad for that fuzzy gray-green plant tucked into the herb bed.

The scent alone is reason enough

If you’ve ever rubbed a sage leaf between your fingers, you know the fragrance immediately.

It’s green and earthy, but also woody, clean and slightly camphorous. There is something old-fashioned about it — in the very best way. It smells like gardens, kitchens, autumn dinners and perhaps an old stone cottage somewhere in Provence.

That distinctive fragrance comes from sage’s naturally occurring volatile compounds. Common sage essential oil often contains thujone, camphor and 1,8-cineole, although the exact balance varies depending upon the plant and where it was grown.

Which explains why sage smells like absolutely nothing else in my garden.

And unlike a flower that gives me beauty for a few weeks, sage lets me bring that fragrance indoors — in a vase while I’m working with it, hanging in little bunches to dry, or tucked into jars for winter.

Sage is beautiful before you ever cook with it

I think we sometimes forget that herbs can be part of the ornamental garden. It has that slightly loose, cottage-garden quality I love. 

And although sage is often described as perennial, it is worth knowing that common sage can be somewhat short-lived. Rather than thinking of it as a plant you install once and ignore forever, I like the idea of letting an established plant provide the beginnings of the next one. Sage is easily propagated by layering, division and summer stem cuttings.

Most of us probably first met sage in Thanksgiving stuffing, but fresh sage is wonderful with:
  • browned butter and pasta or ravioli
  • chicken and pork
  • roasted squash, pumpkin and sweet potatoes
  • white beans
  • potatoes
  • sausage
  • mushrooms and onions
  • focaccia
  • apples
  • Parmesan
  • compound butter and herb salts
A few sage leaves fried gently in butter until crisp can turn a very ordinary bowl of pasta into something that's oh so delicious. 

From garden to pantry

A drying rack and glass jars are useful companions for saving the season’s sage—one for drying the leaves, the other for storing them once fully dry. Simple tools for bringing a little of the garden into the winter kitchen.

You’ll find both in my Garden & Porch collection.

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Why sage has been valued for so long

The botanical name Salvia is connected to Latin words associated with health or saving, and sage has a very long history of traditional medicinal use. Modern research has begun examining some of those old traditions more carefully.

Small clinical studies and reviews have explored sage preparations for areas including memory and attention, menopausal hot flashes and oral health. The findings are interesting, but they are not a reason to turn a garden herb into a cure-all.

What I love most, though, is how naturally sage fits into everyday life. So around here, sage remains primarily what I love it for most: a beautiful garden herb, a wonderful cooking ingredient, and a little piece of traditional herbal history.

What I’m doing with my garden sage

But winter is coming. I’m dividing this year’s harvest into a few different uses. Some leaves will be dried whole and stored in glass jars. Some will go into the freezer. Some will become sage butter and garden sage salt. And some will become simple handmade gifts.

I love the idea of putting a little garden sage salt in a jar with a handwritten recipe card.

Useful. Beautiful. And something that actually came from my garden.

Enjoy this free guide for your own sage harvest.

Because one of my favorite parts of gardening isn't simply growing something. It's finding a way to carry a little of the season forward. I'm grateful and celebrating summer becoming fall, and fall quietly becoming winter.

Bring it to the table. ❤️


A note: Sage has a long traditional history and some promising early research, but it isn’t a substitute for medical care. Concentrated sage oil is not the same as cooking with sage leaves, and large amounts of certain sage compounds can be unsafe. Use common sense, and check with a qualified clinician if you are considering medicinal use.

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