{"id":142590,"date":"2025-04-04T02:40:38","date_gmt":"2025-04-04T07:40:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=142590"},"modified":"2025-04-03T18:45:35","modified_gmt":"2025-04-03T23:45:35","slug":"spring-blooms-on-meadow-sage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2025\/04\/04\/spring-blooms-on-meadow-sage\/","title":{"rendered":"Spring Blooms On Meadow Sage"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Yesterday in the midst of spring rain and hail storms here in Arkansas, the Meadow Sage, <em>Salvia pratensis<\/em>, started to show color and numerous blooms.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazyload aligncenter wp-image-142586 size-full\" title=\"First of spring blooms on Meadow Sage, Sebastian County, Arkansas\" src=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/meadow-sage-salvia-pratensis-first-blooms-mia-mcpherson-2056.jpg\" data-orig-src=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/meadow-sage-salvia-pratensis-first-blooms-mia-mcpherson-2056.jpg\" alt=\"First of spring blooms on Meadow Sage, Sebastian County, Arkansas\" width=\"900\" height=\"643\" srcset=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%27http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%27%20width%3D%27900%27%20height%3D%27643%27%20viewBox%3D%270%200%20900%20643%27%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%27900%27%20height%3D%27643%27%20fill-opacity%3D%220%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/meadow-sage-salvia-pratensis-first-blooms-mia-mcpherson-2056-200x143.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/meadow-sage-salvia-pratensis-first-blooms-mia-mcpherson-2056-250x179.jpg 250w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/meadow-sage-salvia-pratensis-first-blooms-mia-mcpherson-2056-300x214.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/meadow-sage-salvia-pratensis-first-blooms-mia-mcpherson-2056-400x286.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/meadow-sage-salvia-pratensis-first-blooms-mia-mcpherson-2056-600x429.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/meadow-sage-salvia-pratensis-first-blooms-mia-mcpherson-2056-768x549.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/meadow-sage-salvia-pratensis-first-blooms-mia-mcpherson-2056-800x572.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/meadow-sage-salvia-pratensis-first-blooms-mia-mcpherson-2056.jpg 900w\" data-sizes=\"auto\" data-orig-sizes=\"(max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><span style=\"color: #808080;\">First of spring blooms on Meadow Sage<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"50\" data-end=\"304\">The weather was challenging, but late in the afternoon, I decided to photograph the Meadow Sage since the heavy moisture in the air made the colors even stronger than normal. This photo was taken after a hailstorm, and the flowers still look outstanding!<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"306\" data-end=\"683\">Meadow Sage isn\u2019t native to North America, isn\u2019t the edible sage used in cooking, and isn\u2019t the same as the sage in sagebrushes. A member of the Lamiaceae family, which includes other aromatic plants like rosemary, basil, and lavender, it grows naturally in Europe, western Asia, and northern Africa. Its name, pratensis, means &#8220;of meadows,&#8221; a perfect fit for where it thrives.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"685\" data-end=\"1251\">Although not native to North America, this nectar-rich herbaceous perennial attracts bees, butterflies, hummingbirds, and other pollinators.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"685\" data-end=\"1251\">Meadow Sage draws a variety of butterflies, especially those attracted to nectar-rich flowers. Common visitors include the Painted Lady, a widespread traveler, and Skippers, which dart quickly between blooms.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"685\" data-end=\"1251\">Cabbage Whites are frequent visitors, fluttering from flower to flower. Swallowtails, especially the Black Swallowtail, also stop by to feed. Common Buckeyes, Duskywings, and Fritillaries may also make an appearance.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"1253\" data-end=\"1467\">With its nectar-rich blossoms, <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Salvia_pratensis\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Meadow Sage<\/span><\/a> is a great plant for attracting a wide range of butterfly species to your garden. It can also be grown in containers, making it an excellent option for apartment dwellers.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"1469\" data-end=\"1680\">Now that the Meadow Sages are blooming, I expect to see some butterflies nectaring on the blossoms once the rainstorms move out on Sunday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"1469\" data-end=\"1680\">Maybe a hummingbird will stop by too. I\u2019ll be ready with camera in hand!<\/p>\n<p>Life<em> is<\/em> good.<\/p>\n<p>Mia<\/p>\n<p>Click <a href=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/flower-and-tree-images\/\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">here<\/span><\/a> to see more of my flower, shrub, and tree photos.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Yesterday in the midst of spring rain and hail storms here in Arkansas, the Meadow Sage, Salvia pratensis, started to show color and numerous blooms.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":142586,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13950,16359,13951],"tags":[6098,6557,7353,16361,6518,2217,13931,16362,686,15674,6853,7079,16360,165,15824,13966],"class_list":["post-142590","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arkansas","category-meadow-sage","category-sebastian-county","tag-blooming","tag-blooms","tag-blossoms","tag-first-blooms","tag-flowering","tag-flowers","tag-garden","tag-herbaceous-perennial","tag-introduced","tag-meadow-sage","tag-nonnative","tag-purple-flowers","tag-salvia-pratensis","tag-spring","tag-suburban","tag-yard"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/meadow-sage-salvia-pratensis-first-blooms-mia-mcpherson-2056.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-B5Q","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":135485,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/10\/11\/autumn-female-monarch-butterfly-in-my-viewfinder\/","url_meta":{"origin":142590,"position":0},"title":"Autumn Female Monarch Butterfly In My Viewfinder","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"October 11, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"What's up today? I've got a few female Monarch butterfly images I\u2019ve been meaning to share but I hadn\u2019t edited them until now. This morning seems perfect!","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Arkansas&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Arkansas","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/arkansas\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Monarch butterfly nectaring on flowers, Sebastian County, Arkansas","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/monarch-butterfly-female-mia-mcpherson-7412.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/monarch-butterfly-female-mia-mcpherson-7412.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/monarch-butterfly-female-mia-mcpherson-7412.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/monarch-butterfly-female-mia-mcpherson-7412.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":133906,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/09\/05\/snowberry-clearwing-moth-photos-from-arkansas\/","url_meta":{"origin":142590,"position":1},"title":"Snowberry Clearwing Moth Photos From Arkansas","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"September 5, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Snowberry Clearwing Moth photos are what I am sharing this morning. The first five images were taken yesterday, and the last one was taken in the spring.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Arkansas&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Arkansas","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/arkansas\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Snowberry Clearwing moth up close, Sebastian County, Arkansas","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Snowberry-Clearwing-moth-arkansas-mia-mcpherson-6760.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Snowberry-Clearwing-moth-arkansas-mia-mcpherson-6760.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Snowberry-Clearwing-moth-arkansas-mia-mcpherson-6760.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Snowberry-Clearwing-moth-arkansas-mia-mcpherson-6760.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":135857,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/10\/21\/male-and-female-monarch-butterfly-photos\/","url_meta":{"origin":142590,"position":2},"title":"Male And Female Monarch Butterfly Photos","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"October 21, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"As the Monarch butterflies made their way through Arkansas at the end of September, I had the chance to take a couple of photos that really show off the unique features between the males and females.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Arkansas&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Arkansas","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/arkansas\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Male Monarch butterfly in autumn, Sebastian County, Arkansas","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/monarch-butterfly-male-sedum-mia-mcpherson-9234.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/monarch-butterfly-male-sedum-mia-mcpherson-9234.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/monarch-butterfly-male-sedum-mia-mcpherson-9234.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/monarch-butterfly-male-sedum-mia-mcpherson-9234.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":89758,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2021\/06\/02\/great-blue-heron-and-mountain-goldenbanner\/","url_meta":{"origin":142590,"position":3},"title":"Great Blue Heron and Mountain Goldenbanner","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"June 2, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Yesterday I wrote about a Golden Eagle in the Wasatch Mountains. Today I am writing about \"golden\" again. Blooming Mountain Goldenbanner and a Great Blue Heron.\u00a0","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Birds&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Mountain Goldenbanner in bloom close up, Wasatch Mountains, Morgan County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/mountain-goldenbanner-in-bloom-mia-mcpherson-2701.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/mountain-goldenbanner-in-bloom-mia-mcpherson-2701.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/mountain-goldenbanner-in-bloom-mia-mcpherson-2701.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/mountain-goldenbanner-in-bloom-mia-mcpherson-2701.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":14841,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2014\/04\/27\/wild-blue-flax-in-the-high-uintas\/","url_meta":{"origin":142590,"position":4},"title":"Wild Blue Flax in the High Uintas","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"April 27, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"I adore the delicacy of the Wild Blue Flax and the sage-green color of the foliage and how they move so gracefully in a breeze.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;High Uintas&quot;","block_context":{"text":"High Uintas","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/high-uintas-utah\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Wild Blue Flax in the High Uintas, Uintah Mountains, High Uintas, Summit County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/wild-blue-flax-mia-mcpherson-1639.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/wild-blue-flax-mia-mcpherson-1639.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/wild-blue-flax-mia-mcpherson-1639.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/wild-blue-flax-mia-mcpherson-1639.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":83163,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2021\/04\/02\/spring-sage-thrasher-portrait\/","url_meta":{"origin":142590,"position":5},"title":"Spring Sage Thrasher Portrait","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"April 2, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"The second bird I photographed yesterday morning on Antelope Island State Park was an adult Sage Thrasher in gorgeous early morning light.\u00a0","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Antelope Island State Park&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Antelope Island State Park","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/antelope-island-state-park\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Spring Sage Thrasher portrait, Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/sage-thrasher-close-up-adult-mia-mcpherson-2045.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/sage-thrasher-close-up-adult-mia-mcpherson-2045.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/sage-thrasher-close-up-adult-mia-mcpherson-2045.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/sage-thrasher-close-up-adult-mia-mcpherson-2045.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/142590","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=142590"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/142590\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/142586"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=142590"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=142590"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=142590"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}