Always Blue Delphinium

Just received a catalog from one of my favorite perennial growers Bluestone.

A perennial that I planted many years ago is the delphinium, a flower that has been part of the flower garden for a long time.

It’s color is generally blue.

Or as the Encyclopedia of Gardening puts it: “flowers are prevailingly blue.”

Noel Kingsbury writes about its blue color in his book Garden Flora.

He says, “The flowers had a particular appeal in the early twentieth century [in Germany] because of the mystical appeal of the color blue.

“Artists, printers, and designers were fascinated by it and its pure representation.”

This flower is a popular addition to any perennial garden. It has the name ‘larkspur’ as well.

Lawrence Griffith writes in his wonderful book Flowers and Herbs of Early America “Larkspur is the heart and soul of the colonial-style garden.”

The Bluestone catalog lists this plant under ‘delphinium.’

The company offers a new variety this year called ‘Delgenius Glitzy’ [below]

Rochester, New York seed company owner James Vick (1818-1882) listed the Delphium in the section of Annuals in his 1874 seed catalog.

He writes, “The Dwarf Larkspur, when in perfection, are equaled by very few flowers; indeed it would be difficult to conceive of any thing much prettier than a good bed of Dwarf Larkspurs.”

Here is a photo of a Victorian garden with a tall blue delphinium or larkspur in clear view on the left. [below]