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 dating a married woman who is separated“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]