Salvia splendens 'Sao Borja’ more than fills the bill. Sporting eye-popping, inch-plus-long, dark-red flowers emerging from burgundy bracts, this is a flower to swoon over.

The cherry sage or autumn sage, Salvia greggii, is native to Texas and blooms nonstop from late spring until frost. It, too, is a deep red with other colors now available.