Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Monstrous Delphiniums or Dainty English Ladies

On the sorry day I kick that proverbial bucket I'd like my epitaph to read:
Now ya tell me.
Seems like all the really good information arrives the day after there's no turning back.

Take last night, for instance, when I lovingly planted 15 cups of Pacific Giant Delphinium seeds. Nurseries display dwarf versions of these monsters every summer. Tempting, tantalizing blossoms are a guaranteed sell to any gardener with a weakness for blue. (They come in other colors but who cares?)

Pacific Giants ~ which grow as tall as me ~ bloom every July in my Traveling Garden. The garden doesn't actually travel. I do! Some folks collect bumper stickers. My Grandma collected goofy little spoons. I collect plants -- as in bringing home something special that reminds me of where I've been.

I purchased my first Pacific Giant Delphinium at the Tillamook Farmer's Market in Oregon ~ where I was told emphatically that they would never take to my mountain winters but they were wrong.

I'm pretty much sold on them. Or, at least I was until this morning. That's when I got online and discovered a new group of gardeners who are tearing out all the Pacific Giant Delphiniums and replacing them with English Delphiniums.

My immediate response was "I gotta get me some of those." But nobody sells them. And, when did Pacifics become hum drum?

What gives?
* Delfinio Mezcla Gigante Pacifico - Pacific Giant Delphiniums - USDA zones 3-7 - put forth an astonishing 4-8 foot tall display of bright blue flowers in July. They are typically sold in mixed colors but if you're a mean Mom like me, you can remove the white, pink and lavender so you are blessed with a heart-stopping true blue bonanza.

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