I return to my blog, post baby, with a gratuitous shot of a bee in a bee

Someone, I hope, will tell me what kind of a bee it is, and whether I am right in thinking that the centre of each delphinium flower is actually called a 'bee', or if my brain has made this up (I only have a few moments to post this before mothering duties call me away)...

This is a long overdue post to glorify my delphiniums, which are now utterly and completely over, but which gave me such unspeakable joy in June while they lasted. For full disclosure I am bound to tell you that the plugs were sent to me by a rather fabulous outfit called 'Plant Me Now', way back in March, and, perhaps because of the name, I didn't actually get them into the ground  until the end of April...or was it the beginning of May??? Back then, we thought winter would never end...remember that?...all the cold and the rain, and I was loathe, in my heavily pregnant state to be out in the freezing elements digging holes, however small...but eventually I did get round to it, and after rather a lot of toing and froing with a torch at night to extract slimy invertebrates, and rather a lot of surrounding the precious seedlings with special anti-slug things, like wool pellets, baked egg-shells and something called 'slug stoppa', I finally got my rewards as they emerged...

 Tight little balled up buds, like determined little baby fists, and with those dainty, embryonic spurs behind each one...

 

 ...and you know, there IS no in-between stage with a delph...they go from buds to blouses, without even a flicker of shame. How I love them with my pink geraniums (and yes, the odd dandelion)...

 ...They made fine friends with the euphorbia too, and didn't seem to mind a bit of shade.

 Here they are in the distance, adding loveliness all the way along the back border of my garden.

Yes, they are a faff, because you really have to look after them in their infancy.

I planted twenty one, and lost nine seedlings because I missed a couple of nights fighting the slug war.

But OMG, they are worth it, and I would, and WILL do it all again....glutton for punishment that I am.

The seedlings arrived beautifully packed, and in absolutely perfect condition...so spotless I was almost afraid to touch them. These people clearly know their stuff. Check them out here, and you can start making a wish list from their huge range of perennials.