In September I wrote about my mandevilla plant that had suffered terribly during an extreme heat wave that occured while we were away on vacation. I’d hoped to be able to return the previously beautiful plant to good health. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to save it, even after careful watering, and relocating it to a less sunny spot in the garden. The direct early morning sun was just too much for it. The plant had looked beautiful near our front door, but now the spot was vacant. I’d recently purchased a Mystic Blue Salvia to add to my hummingbird garden. It was doing well and growing nicely in a large container. I wondered how it would look by the front door in place of the mandevilla. As you can see in the photo above the Mystic Blue is doing very well in its new place and looks even prettier than the mandevilla. It is fuller and fills the area beautifully.
Here you see the mandevilla before our vacation. Both are lovely plants, but the salvia is a better choice for the spot. Most salvia prefer full sun, so will do better in our front garden, especially in the summer. I was very sorry to lose my beautiful pink mandevilla, but I’m very happy with the end result.