Delphiniums

 My Mom used to grow some really tall Delphiniums. She put a wire cage around them to keep them upright. 

They were very pretty.  My Dad used to drag the water hose over there and then rest in that chair. 

Years ago there was an elderly lady that lived along the West Shell Lake Road that had a huge planting of Delphiniums in all colors...it was very impressive this time of year....now when you go by that place it is just a sandy parking spot.  I never stopped there but always slowed down to see the flowers. 

My cousin Geraldine had some really pretty plantings of Delphiniums along her deck at her old place. 

Minnesota weather:  High was 81F or 28C Low was 61F or 17C eh!

We had brats, sweetcorn and raspberries for supper. 

Far Guy felt good enough to visit with a couple of former co workers. 

Far Side

Delphinium Tour

First Stop: My Wildflower Garden

I really like Delphiniums, mine are pretty puny, well what did I expect..no water other than rain, no weeding, despite all their hardships out in the wildflower garden they are going to bloom. I do know where to find some of the best Delphiniums in the entire country. I have lots of old customers that are smiling this time of year when the Delphs have had a great summer.

I drove up on the prairie, I love the prairie. I was born and raised on the edge of the prairie with a view of the woods. I love my trees here in the woods..but those prairie views are so good for your soul.

Second stop: My cousins

Another good thing for your soul is visiting one of your cousins with beautiful Delphiniums...she loves the dark eyed ones, and wanted only those. However..she does have a few white eyed ones..that are my favorite! It must have been a mislabeled seedling..maybe Far Guy did it. I used to order the seed as a mix, start the seedlings early enough in the spring so that they would shoot a bloom in a four inch pot, so I could transplant into a gallon size pot that was appropriately marked for color and eye. Once they bloomed, if you removed the flowering stalk..you sometimes were rewarded with added blooms. I grew three series of Delphs, the main thing to remember about them is they are heavy feeders, and like plenty of moisture and cool weather. They usually overwinter pretty well too.. however wind and heavy rain are their enemies, especially when they are heavy in bloom.

I had a wonderful visit with my cousin, she is such a special lady. She is a very busy gal, I took an off chance she would be home and she was! She is in the process of remodeling her house..I was anxious to see what her vision was, she isn't done yet as she was doing some finish carpentry when I arrived. She has all the angles for the corners worked out, and her saws were on the deck, she had her tool apron on and a big smile on her face! I told her that I could hear her Delphiniums calling my name, they are gorgeous..and the lettuce from her garden that she sent home with me was fantastic! :)