Salvia rosmarinus 'Severn Sea'
Common name(s): Rosemary, Severn Sea
Description: evergreen shrub; an old English cultivar raised by Norman Hadden of Somerset in the 1950s. Prostrate growth with short, dark green foliage and small blue flowers in autumn and winter.
Height: to 2 ft. Spread: to 3 ft.
Position: full sun and well-draining soil
Uses: culinary, medicine, cosmetics, landscaping
Winter Hardiness: to 10 F and below
Drought: Adapted to 4 months of summer drought
Notes: Previously held an RHS Award of Garden Merit but it was rescinded in 2021 after a poor performance in the rosemary trials at Wisley. Original plant material was from a seedling growing at Paignton Zoo and selected and obtained by Herbert Whitley who passed it off to Norman Hadden in the 1950s.