Blue Delphiniums

The Apple Tree Garden originally housed my original collection of blue seed-grown delphiniums. They were initially a bit of a flop (literally) in our windy summers. I rather hoped that the other plants would hold them up.

delphinium flower-head

I knew that Delphiniums were highly prized perennials, from reading my classy British gardening magazines. I was so proud that I could grow them myself from seed so cheaply. So they were planted lovingly underneath the Apricot tree, and I waited patiently for the blue flowers.

My Delphiniums Were a Flop!

Alas - my delphiniums were a disaster in those early days. The trees and shrubs planted nearer to the road were small and gave little wind shelter.

Stems flopped over, and I even thought of staking each flower-head - I'd read that in one of my books.

Of course common sense took over, plus a proper sense of location. This was New Zealand. New Zealand was a windy island, and New Zealand gardeners needed to work with the wind, not plant against it. So they flopped, and I ignored them!

Propped up by a Rose

The blue Delphiniums are still in the Apple Tree Garden, and all the plants around them have increased in size. The tall bush rose Fruhlingsgold now provides the perfect scaffolding.

There's a lot of shade by mid-summer, though, and even if I cut them back I never get a second flowering.

Looking back, I took things so seriously in my early gardening days. Things have certainly changed - for the better, I think!