under my own conditions; things that may look good to me, may not seem so 
good to you. I must know such things in order to build for the future. 
Before I can tell you my plans for the future, I will make a summary of 
things already accomplished. Before the advent of the Lyondels, many flower 
lovers had heard of three inch flowers but only very few had actually seen 
them. Now the customers of the Lyondel Gardens have seen and have owned 
delphinium plants with flowers measuring 3, 3*4, 3V 2 , and even 3% inches in 
diameter. Formerly discriminating growers were satisfied if five per cent of 
their seedlings proved of sufficient value to be saved. But now the customers 
of Lyondel Hybrids are disappointed if at least 75 per cent of their Lyondel 
seedlings do not prove to be of better than average quality. 
The aster-flowered, cyclamen-flowered, and chrysanthemum-flowered del¬ 
phiniums were either developed or perfected at the Lyondel Gardens. 
A superb line of seifs, such as lavender, lilac, orchid, smoky bluish violet 
and plum purple tones have come to lend a distinction to the Lyondels. 
About 95 per cent of the seedlings of Lyondel delphiniums come semi- 
double or double; a enviable distinction. 
The customers of the Lyondel delphiniums have come to know that they 
will not have just conventional delphiniums not much different from any other 
strain, but often they will witness sharp and pleasant departures from the 
accepted forms and colors. 
But what of the future? 
A solidly anchored and wiry, tough stem is my next objective. We want 
delphiniums that will, without any effort, sway in rainstorms but not break. 
Unfortunately such delphiniums are rare and when available, fail to come 
up to our present standards of beauty. Results obtained thus far at the 
Lyondel Gardens where some very tough stemmed but modest flowered del¬ 
phiniums have been crossed with the cream of modern hybrids show that it 
is possible to combine the wiry habit of one with the beauty of the other. I am 
happy to say that this toughness of the stems seems to be associated with a 
truly perennial tendency, a quality which has been sought for a long time. 
Meanwhile, a more rigid selection has eliminated the twisting tendency and 
the soft-stemmed habit found in some Lyondels, and I feel certain that my 
1936 seeds will yield seedlings surprisingly better and of infinitely more wiry 
character than any Lyondels hitherto placed on the market. 
More prominent, well balanced and attractive eyes will appear in greater 
numbers in this year’s offerings. There will be a large percentage of broad 
sepalled flowers, as well as a still more lasting quality of the sepals. 
The color range has been broadened with each passing year. This will 
reach its peak in this year’s seeds. Every effort has been made to make the 
anniversary offerings of the Lyondel Gardens of the highest quality possible. 
THE ANNUAL REPORT 
In the following pages the members of Lyondel Family make their re¬ 
ports voluntarily and without solicitation. A great many letters have not been 
printed because the writers specifically urged me not to do so. Some of the 
letters printed here are not at all favorable but are included to show that 
things occasionally do go wrong; but it is not possible to fix responsibility 
because so many things are likely to happen. 
I do not wish to present these letters as testimonials but rather as in¬ 
dividual reports of seasonal experiences. We will never be able properly to 
evaluate the performance of any strain of seeds unless such seeds, have been 
tried under as many different environments as possible. Of course, I do not 
deny that such letters are good advertisement for the Lyondel Gardens. But 
after all, if you are satisfied or dissatisfied with a certain product, you must 
tell others, thereby rendering a service to everyone concerned. And please 
remember, I want frank criticisms, be they favorable or unfavorable. I shall 
endeavor to profit from them and pass the profit on to you. Unless you in¬ 
struct me otherwise, I shall be glad to print as many of your criticisms and 
comments as space will permit. 
All the following letters were received after my last circular was mailed. 
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