Bethel Bloom

I have no idea why Blogger thinks this photo should be oriented this way. Or why Picasa will not let me rotate it.

Anyway, this is the very large bud of my bethel sage (Salvia involucrata 'Bethelii'), just starting to open. It was planted in January this year, so this is the first time it has flowered. It is pretty impressive! I don't know how long it will take for the flower to completely open, but it will be fun watching it happen.