One of my Twitter friends mentioned that her grandfather had grown Larkspur in the garden every summer. That reminded me of the larkspur my father always grew near the kitchen door of the house, so that he could see the rich colour (he loved blue flowers) every time he exited the door.
The Larkspur is an easy and delightful plant for many landscapers and gardeners, adding old-fashioned charm to any bed or border.
Bold and attractive, these hardy annuals grow light, feathery flowers atop tall spikes. Use larkspur in cottage gardens, or butterfly gardens. Larkspur also makes an excellent cutting flower so landscapers can use it in cut flower gardens.
Larkspur is a beautiful and popular annual that comes in colours of blue, lavender, white, rose, and pink, although blue is the most popular colour. Larkspur has a lacy kind of foliage (much like Cosmos) with blooms highly compacted on long tapering spikes that give it a tall, regal appearance. It generally grows in 30cm or 60cm high spires, although some people have reported heights of up to 1.2m and more.
These big plants grow quickly to produce flowers in spring, earlier than many annuals. Larkspur makes an excellent garden flower, and also looks great in vases, although its vase life is seven days or less. They can also be dried for winter arrangements. Larkspur is excellent massed in groups. Tall plants look their best in the back of the flower garden.
This multi-use annual is so easy to grow — just get it started and it will be happy to reseed itself for the next year!
The plant profile I posted on my website explains how to propagate, grow and care for Larkspur. Go there now! http://tinyurl.com/yhkrbmy
Lovely photos, Darryl!
ReplyDeleteWe used to use them quite often in arrangements at the flower shop I worked at. I like the fact, which you've mentioned, that they dry so nicely!