Vol. VI 
Number 9 
September 
1919 
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| FOR BOTH AMATEUR AND PROFESSIONAL | 
| GROWERS OF THE GLADIOLUS, DAHLIA, IRIS, ETC. | 
Entered as second-class matter March 31, 1914, at post office at 
Calcium, N.Y.. under act of March 3, 1879. 
I PUBLISHED MONTHLY ON THE FIRST OF THE j 
| MONTH BY MADISON COOPER, CALCIUM, N. Y. j 
Subscription price: Three years, $2.00; One year, $1.00. 
BEAUTIFUL DELPHINIUMS (Larkspurs.) 
[Written expressly fer The Flower Grower . ] BY BERTHA BERBERT-HAMMOND. 
In the garden of my childhood 
Where the stately Larkspurs gtew 
Colors swayed to gentle breezes, 
Purple and white and brilliant blue 
****** 
And adown the years in fancy 
Laughing voices come again. 
As we twine the Larkspur’s blossoms 
Into friendship’s fairy chain. 
— Helen M. Whiting. 
The improved Delphiniums are a 
revelation and destined to become ex- 
ceedingly popular. Blue flowers are 
rare and much sought after, and among 
the perennial Delphiniums are found 
the most desirable blue flowers that 
can be easily and successfuly grown by 
the amateur gardener. The blue shades 
of these lovely flowers range from a 
pale azure to the deepest purplish blue. 
While blue is the prevailing color, 
some varieties show a blending of blue, 
white and red giving lavender blues, 
rosy mauves, purplish blues and other 
indescribable shades. There is also a 
pure white variety catalogued as D. 
Moerheimi. 
The new Belladonna Delphiniums 
are especially fine in their wealth of 
varied blues. We find gentian blue, 
royal blue, Dresden blue, turquoise blue, 
navy blue, indigo cerulean and numer- 
ous other exquisite combinations and 
mixtures from the palette of the Master 
Artist. 
Many of the hybrids now in cultiva- 
tion were derived from the old-fash- 
ioned “Bee” Larkspur (D. Elatum.) 
While the newer varieties are so very 
desirable I also grow the good, old 
“ Bee ” Larkspur, common in the gar- 
den of my childhood home, with its 
dark center that so very closely re- 
sembles a fat, fuzzy pollen-covered bee 
in the act of sipping deeply of the sweet 
nectar secreted in the chalice of the 
flower. I remember, too, how I helped 
to twine its long wreath-like spikes in- 
to dainty chains of friendship. I love 
the dear, old “ Bee ” Larkspur for its 
own worth and also for the sake of the 
sweet memories it recalls of 
Those bright days of childhood I ne’er can forget, 
How they linger, yes. linger in memory yet, 
I can never live over those bright days again. 
Sunny days, happy days, unmingled with pain 
Never again will the world seem so fair 
GLADIOLUS— MONTEZUMA. 
Originated by Dr. C. Hoeg, Decorah, Iowa, 
and introduced in 1918. 
Described as a rich dark crimson-carmine, 
slightly flaked black, maroon throat, mottled 
yeliow. 
Montezuma has very large flowers and a long, 
graceful spike. 
Never will I know so little care. 
The sky then appeared to me so charmingly blue. 
And each open flower of the loveliest hue. 
— Mary A. Wilson. 
There are both annual and perennial 
varieties of Delphiniums and also single 
and double flowering sorts. The long, 
graceful spikes of bloom are decora- 
tive in the garden or as cut flowers. 
They also make the loveliest token to 
place in “God’s Acre, Beautiful ” where 
“ A little green encircled hill ” marks 
the last earthly resting place of a 
dearly beloved one. 
As the hardy Delphinium has so 
many excellent qualities and seemingly 
no faults, it can be unreservedly re- 
commended as a most desirable and 
satisfactory plant for the garden of 
the busy woman. It is not in the least 
particular about location, thrives in 
any ordinary garden soil, endures 
drought and neglect, requires no winter 
protection and will self-sow. Every 
spring a number of volunteer seedlings 
may be found nestling near the older 
plants. While small, these may be 
transplanted where desired. As they 
are of rapid growth and attain a height 
of over five feet it is well to plant them 
in the back ground or among shrub- 
bery. 
Seeds planted in summer or early 
autumn usually produce plants that 
will bloom the following year. Some- 
times seeds planted early in spring may 
bloom the first season but will produce 
flowers of a finer quality the following 
year. The Delphinium can also be 
propagated by division but this re- 
quires considerable care and skill. It 
is a rather slow method of increasing 
stock and, from my own experience, 
not always a successful one. To try to 
divide the plants late in the season 
nearly always results in a failure. Con- 
trary to some authorities, I believe 
that when once well established, the 
perennial Larkspur, like the Peony, 
resents being disturbed. Plants from 
seeds, though not always true to type, 
are readily obtained and when firmly 
established will last for years, growing 
larger and producing handsomer flowers 
