They call 'em 'blue heaven'

We get so much right in the English-style garden, with roses tucked into true geraniums, yarrow spilling over gravel paths, cabbages peeking out between the primroses and don't forget the brown hen pecking in the poppies.

Yet our cottage gardens fall flat without delphiniums. Every cottage garden worth remembering will sport soaring blue spikes reaching up to touch the sky. Delphiniums are the focal point, the wow plant that holds our attention. They are that splash of cerulean blue that you can't get from another plant.

We salivate when we see them in spring, yet so rarely plant them. And it could be because when they are blooming it is too late.

"We sell more delphiniums in springtime when they are in bloom, but people that know about them plant them in the fall," said Ted Mayeda of M & M Nursery in the Southern California city of Orange.

Fall is the time to double dig like there is no tomorrow, work the soil until it is rich and crumbly like chocolate cake, pop the young plants in, then make every effort to keep the snails and slugs at bay.

When all is planted we can settle in and wait for spring's warm weather, when these classic perennials stretch to the sky and bloom.

Delphiniums are about the blue. When gardeners think of sapphire spires, Pacific Giants might come to mind. Many nurseries in California carry the strain, which stretches 6 to 8 feet at maturity.

Delphinium elatum is the parent of Pacific Giants. They are also referred to as Pacific Hybrids and Pacific Coast Hybrids. Started from seed in the nursery trade, they have colors that range from light to dark, and from white to blue to purple and pink.

"You will want to improve your soil where you plant them," said Ron Vanderhoff of Roger's Gardens in Corona del Mar.

"Dig deep with lots of compost and work in a handful of superphosphate. Be careful how you place your plants. You won't want to cover the crowns with too much soil."

Because snails and slugs will creep from a block away to dine on your delphiniums, be sure to keep a regular abatement program going.

Annie's Annuals in Richmond offers a line of D. elatum bred by the Dowdeswell family in New Zealand.

"The Dowdeswells are the ultimate delphinium-ologists," Annie Hayes of Annie's Annuals. "They took the strongest English delphiniums and bred them back and forth until they got super delphiniums that don't die off after their first year. "They get bigger every year until they reach 4 or 5 feet across. The flowers are huge, in spikes to 6 feet tall." All delphiniums have big heads when they bloom and will need to be staked. But don't wait to do it until the plants are twisted or leaning.

Keep a handful of bamboo stakes or pea stakes at the ready to loosely tie up the plants as they elongate. Be sure to poke them in the ground well away from the crown of the plants.

"When the flowers begin to fade, cut the first faded spikes down to the base, side dress with compost and they will bloom again two to three more times," said Hayes.

Help your delphiniums through hot summers if you want them to return next year. Delphiniums don't like sizzling temperatures. As it heats up, mulch your plants with a 3-inch layer of compost to keep the root zone cool.

in pots. They do best in glazed pots that don't wick water away from the potting soil. Use a pumice-based cactus mix and feed often. "Delphiniums are real hogs," added Hayes.

When potted delphiniums begin to die back in the summer, you can move the pots to an out-of-the-way place. But keep them cool.

Make sure the plants are barely moist in their pots until the following spring. Then begin to feed and water on a regular schedule when new growth begins.

GLOSSARY:
• Pea stake: This is a quaint English term for a plant stake. It is used to describe twisted twigs and branches popped off of nearby shrubs and trees to prop up early spring peas. Pea stakes are also used in English gardens to support floppy perennials.

• Side dress: This is a gardening term that means to feed a plant with either compost or dry plant food, not near the crown, but out around the root-zone area. Normally you would not dig a side dress under, but simply sprinkle it on the surface of the soil.

• Double dig: It means to dig deep and improve the soil to a depth that is twice as deep as your spade or shovel.