Don’t forget to set your clocks to “Spring Ahead” on Sunday, March 9th 2014, when daylight savings time begins.

About the Photos

These photos were taken by me with my iPad at a wedding in Newport, RI last summer. The scenery was absolutely stunning.  It was not only a sunny day, but very windy especially with the ocean breezes.

As we witnessed the happy couple getting married, I questioned how the beautiful vases filled with flowers would stay in place, wondering if their florist secured the base of the vases somehow to hold them onto the pillars.

Sure enough, after the “I Do’s” and all the wedding guests went to the reception building, the vase of flowers toppled over right after taking photos.  Fortunately, I was there to tell the staff, and they picked them back up to bring inside.

About the Blue Flowers

Delphiniums are the blue flowers in the vase.

Seeing them at this wedding brought back memories – as this is one of my fav’s.

Take notice the florist used flowers with orange blooms in the vase, a color opposite to blue on the color wheel (a complementary).  And soft oranges were used.  The Delphinium’s blooms were a soft blue with white centers.  The backdrop of a bright blue sky really made this vase amazing at the wedding.

The flowers are extremely showy on tall spikes (or racemes), usually blue.

Delphiniums also come in other colors such as white, violet, pink or red, and yellow.  It is a tall erect plant with heights of 4 to 6 feet and will bloom early to midsummer in full sun.

• Steven M. Still writes in “The Manual of Herbaceous Ornamental Plants”:Delphinium is derived from the Greek word delphis, dolphin, and refers to the flower buds before they expand, which resemble dolphins.

At my wedding

I remembered looking over a book of potential cut flowers with a florist (a mom of a good friend) and seeing Delphinium blooms for the first time when I was picking out my own wedding bouquet years ago. I pointed to them to ask what they were. They were my first pick and I still love them today.

We included them in ceramic swans my mother had made for our head table.

 

When we got our first home, I planted a stand of Delphiniums in my first little perennial garden too.  As each tall stalk of blooms would pop open, it would remind me of my special day years ago, but my Delphiniums did not remain long in the garden.

They are the type of perennials which are a little more picky, preferring a slightly alkaline, organic soil with high fertilization, and they should be protected from windy locations in the garden as well due to their tall stalks.  Some references say they are not difficult to grow, but just need a little bit more attention than easier to grow perennials.

Have you grown them?  How successful has your’s been in your gardens?

To learn more about an absolutely beautiful perennial with showy blooms for the garden or weddings, see this document by Iowa State University:

RG306

Happy Thursday Everyone, Cathy T

Plant Details:

Native to Europe
Perennial
Hardiness: Zones 3-7
Early to midsummer bloom period
Tall habit, full sun, moist well-drained, rich soils
Slightly alkaline pH
Slugs visit/like
Protect from wind in the garden – or in a vase! (Some varieties require staking).

http://www.perennials.com/plants/delphinium-connecticut-yankees.html

Link above to Connecticut Yankee Delphiniums which grow to about 3 feet and branching habit.