They're going to flower

This is the second year for this patch of sauge sclarée (clary sage) that we planted around the real fake well. The first year, the plants were relatively small and they didn't flower. This year, they've grown up higher than the walls of the well and are covered in flower buds.

A flower bud on one of our clary sage plants.

I'm hopeful that these won't die back after flowering. I read that the plant is normally biennial, but can live longer in milder climates. Whatever happens, they re-seed themselves relatively easily. In fact, our plants all sprouted from one parent plant. Ken dug them up and potted them before we transplanted them around the well.