Best Scent Ever

CA Sagebrush at the base of Morro Rock at Christmastime

My hands-down favorite aroma in any garden is California Sagebrush (Artemisia californica.)  It carries the sweet herbal smell that haunts a walker through the bluffs above the beach at Crystal Cove State Park.  When I offer a sprig to visitors of my garden, they uniformly say, “Ahh...”  

It only dominates the scentscape of my garden (to my rather insensitive nose) on the warmest spring days.  But I cheat by planting it along the paths I walk frequently, so I brush up against it, and even pluck a sprig to crush.

Baby CA Sagebrush in May,
5 months in the ground with 'long leaf' foliage.

I have to warn you that California Sagebrush is not the most elegant low-water shrub.  When it is in “long leaf”– under conditions of abundant water– it is a wonderful silvery green pillow.  In conditions of low water, it sheds its leaves and looks quite homely.  But it can be revived with a little water, even in summer.  It is most forgiving about water; it will sprout and shed multiple sets of leaves as water comes and goes.  Some shade encourages it to hold onto its leaves, and since its flowers are more of a distraction than a feature, shade helps it look neater all the way round.   Sagebrush will eventually get woody and leggy, but can be heavily pruned.  It would seem to be most suited to transitional spots between a xeriscape and a traditional garden— perhaps in the back where its occasional scruffiness or hard pruning will not offend.  Next to the compost bin, maybe, so you can pick a refreshing sprig after you open and close the stinky box. 

Happy CA Sagebrush 15 months later
in August with  'dry season' foliage.
Since then it got hacked back severely
so I could see out my kitchen window.  

The otherwise wonderful cultivars ‘Canyon Grey’ (ground-hugging and wide-spreading, a great Japanese or rock garden candidate) and ‘Montara’ (lowish, elegant, and slower growing) do not smell nearly as good. 

Note: Sagebrushes (genus Artemisia) are entirely different from sages (genus Salvia). And neither one is tumbleweed, a widespread non-native.

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