By Sharon Cohoon, Sunset senior garden writer

Salvia x sylvestris 'May Night' gets more press, but 'Snow Hill' is prettier.  It consistently produces more blooms per cycle.  The clean white blooms sparkle even from a distance whereas you need to get close to 'May Night' to appreciate it.  And I get more bloom cycles from 'Snow Hill'.  It consistently reblooms three times in my garden; 'May Night' often only blooms twice, and the second time sparingly at that.

Why aren't more people growing this little beauty?

I've used the designation that the Sunset Western Garden Book uses for this salvia for this post, but you're more likely to find it as Salvia nemerosa 'Snow Hill' in nurseries and catalogs.  It is also sometimes called Salvia x superba.  But it's all the same plant.

If you can't find plants at your local nursery, you can mail order from Bluestone Perennials.