Perovskia

Perovskia atriplicifolia, the Russian sage, is among the most reliable and drought-tolerant sub-shrub perennials available for Martha's Vineyard's full-sun, well-drained coastal border programs, producing luminous silver-lavender flower spikes on ghostly white stems from late July through September that sway gracefully in the island's coastal breezes and catch the late-summer light with particular beauty. It thrives in the lean, sandy, well-drained soils of coastal properties throughout Edgartown and Vineyard Haven and is among the most salt-tolerant ornamental plants in the professional island landscape palette, performing reliably even in garden positions directly exposed to Vineyard Sound and the Atlantic Ocean.

Deer universally avoid it due to the strongly aromatic compounds in all plant parts. Estate Care professionals cut Russian sage back hard to 6 to 8 inches above ground each spring before bud break, treating it as a woody perennial rather than a sub-shrub to ensure vigorous new flowering wood and a compact, well-structured plant through the growing season.