English Delphiniums News, Alaskan Style

Here are are a few pictures from last year's visit to the English Delphinium Show at Wisley, England:

English delphiniums, courtesy Dowdeswell Delphiniums

English delphinium, Mighty Atom

English delphinium, Summerfield Oberon English delphinium, Olive Poppleton

English delphinium, Cranberry Seedling English delphinium, Emily Hawkins

English delphinium, Min, 1 English delphinium, Purple Velvet

Unkown White English delphinium, English delphinium, Carol Fishenden

English delphinium, After Midnight English delphinium, Min,2

English delphinium, Beryl Burton English delphinium, Mighty Atom

English delphinium, Kennington Classic English delphinium, Lucia Sahin

These pictures were taken at the English delphiniums trial beds at Wisley.

Hopefully this summer we will be able to add more pictures of English delphiniums, espcially some pictures from the English delphiniums trial beds of fellow Anchorage gardener, Dave Taplin.

Xmas Greetings 2005!

Last Christmas and the New Year was memorable for a family bereavement of the aquatic kind. Yes, most of our our beloved koi died. David under the influence of Cabin Fever had spent his winter savings on the internet.... No it was not on one of those naughty sites, nor at Party Poker dot com, but at a Koi Auction site. Unfortunately, the new fish brought more than just their beauty, apparently, they brought with them a parasitic infection that quickly spread to all of our other fish.

On a lighter Christmas note Edith’s fastidious taste for unusual Christmas presents reached an all time high. Was it diamonds, furs, a new car that she wished for? No, all she wanted for Christmas was a paper shredder and she got one. David was woken early Christmas morning to the merry tune of Edith shredding old documents, then old newspapers. Even the Christmas wrapping paper met the same fate. The shredding celebration went on for days, and the odd night too.

As Edith shredded David studied. David needed more credits for his teaching re-certification which meant he spent Christmas taking a correspondence class in web design, and so the web site, Gardening, Alaskan Style was created. The web site can be found by searching on Google under Alaska gardening or by typing in the url, http://home.gci.net/~goodgame/ The site has a feature that records who looks at the site. Some of this years interesting visitors included the US Department of Justice(11 minutes), and over 500 Russians all trying to help each other translate the site from English to Russian. In the summer, the web site was mentioned in The Anchorage Daily News resulting in 500 hits in one day.

This summer the Goodgame Garden looked healthier than ever and Edith attributed this to having the whole garden sprayed regularly with organic fertilizer. The only downside to this for the few days after each spraying the whole garden smelled of dead fish.

David’s summer writing efforts for the Anchorage Daily News continue unabated, but not unedited. A 1,500 word article about garden gnomes and their habit of disappearing and going on little trips was published as 800 words. Only the Anchorage Daily News Features Editor knows what happened to the other 700 words. And talking of gnomes the Goodgame garden is now littered with 40 or so of them, well at least they don’t need feeding, nor are they prone to parasites. The gnomes do have a slight problem in that people are always trying to borrow them and take them away on trips. The other article David wrote was about machines that attract and devour mosquitoes. These machines resemble something out of War of the Worlds and are aptly named, Mosquito Magnets.

As we looked towards the fall we didn’t realize it would be just that. After one particularly windy night David noticed one of the large 50 foot Aspen trees was missing. Fortunately, the tree missed the house and the garden fence and was resting precariously on a spruce tree. Since the wind was still gusting, we thought the tree might come down at any minute so David was volunteered to go try to secure the tree to the spruce tree that it had landed on. There was David on the tree as it swayed from side to side trying to remember how to tie knots. Two hours later the a professional tree service safely cut down the tree, limb by limb.

Since David’s jeep was almost an antique David got a new car. A new Audi was purchased in Bellevue Washington and David diligently tracked its journey by barge to Alaska. The new car arrived on Friday, sat in the garage on Saturday. On Sunday, after the season’s first snow, within a block of the house, the new car was promptly crashed into. As one old Alaskan once said, “he who drives a new car after first snowfall is not wise”.

As a new year approaches, Edith is searching for more things to shred. Moreover, Edith is now a Master Gardener and she wonders will David be a senior Master Gardener by the time he finally finishes the course? Only another year will tell.

Merry Christmas!

PS. To keep an eye on what we are up next summer go our gardening web site’s address,

http://home.gci.net/~goodgame/

What's in Store for You?

3/6/05 - As the Iditarod Sled Dog race started and many Alaskans skied cross-country in the annual Tour of Anchorage I started stocking up on plants. Yes at this time of year I get somewhat Dizzy about the impending gardening season, and splurge on plants. After 6 months of winter well even I get Cabin Fever.

This week, I found some nice combos at Lowes for $9.97, especially 1 eryngium Alpinum, 1 white salvia Snowhill, and 1 purple salvia Ostfriesland for $9.97. The Eryngium alpinum with its saphire blue flower heads and spiky ruff reminds me of the ruffles around the neck of many a male courtier from Tudor times if my English history is exact. You could this combo in a pot, or in the garden, but remember eryngiums do not like to be moved. if you want to get a little ambitious eryngiums, like hollyhocks and verbascums can be propagated by root cuttings in the fall. Eryngium Planum is more perennial here but at this price and the opportunity to increase one's stock by root cuttings what the worry.

All the big stores are filling up with teaser plants, an aperitif of the bigger orders due to arrive in the next couple of week. Lowes has dahlias and Glads, so too does Home Depot, Costco, and Fred Meyer. I've seen boxed roses here at Costco as early as March 9th. At Fred Meyer I picked up a couple of Multi Blue clematis and 2 Perovskia for 4.49 each. Perovskia smells of camphor or something medicinal.

The local smaller nurseries are also starting to stock up on plants too. Bell's Nursery has its new crop of roses from Weeks Roses and from Jackson & Perkins sweating it out under burlap, so to be in blooming perfect shape by Mother's Day. The roses: Radiant Perfume, Ellé, Neptune and Aromatherapy would certainly please any mom happy because all are reputed to be very fragrant.

At Suttons nursery a local entity indefatigably managed by Anna and her family I bought my annual supply of purple heliotrope plugs to put in pots and enjoy that almond/Cherry pie fragrance. I couldn't leave without buying the odd Bishop of Llandaff dahlia, an heirloom dahlia with bronze foliage(for those of you not of Welsh descent you pronounce the 2 double Lls as hl). Don't tell the wife but I couldn't leave Suttons without succumbing to the thought of a few fragrant Oriental lilies, well Nippon, auratum virginale, and Dizzy and to be precise.

Seeds 2005

3/6/05 - The Dowdeswell #28 delphiniums are up after about 10 days. Despite being a couple of years old, germinating too are the cream delphinium seeds from Dr. David Bassett, the seed manager for the English Delphinium Society. Talking of David Bassett he tells me he and wife, Elizabeth are diligently proof reading the new edition of the Delphinium Society yearbook. As always I expect the Delphinium Society yearbook will be full of interesting information and photos that will make me as jealous as ever. You might want to check out the Bassett's web site, "Summerfield Delphiniums" at www.david.bassett.care4free.net. This husband and wife team are the backbone of the Delphinium Society, know more about delphiniums on one finger than I might learn in a lifetime, and David Bassett, like most gardeners is always willing to share his considerable knowledge with others.

The Bassetts have hybridized many recent delphinium introductions including the velvety purple delphinium, Summerfield Oberon, seen on the cover of Graham Rice's recent book entitled, Hardy Perennials. If you enjoy delphiniums the "Summerfield Delphiniums" web site truly is a great resource and along with the Dowdeswell web site, www.delphinium.co.nz must be the best sites about delphiniums on the web!

I will have to bring in the tray of mecanopsis, Lingholm from its temporary home outside. This strain of the Himalayan blue poppy seems the easiest to grow from seed. I ordered these seeds on the web from the UK seed company www.chilternseeds.co.uk These seeds seem to germinate better after being stratified, namely being exposed to cold temperatures for a few weeks, and germinate well in the coolness of our unheated garage. As alway I start all my seeds in Pro-Mix PGX then transplant them into Pro-Mix BX or Sunshine mix.

2/20/05 - The garden is still sleeping. Finally, we have some snow that has remained. Now is the time to get out those skate skis and get in a few lessons. We ski at Kincaid Park(previously a missile site), just a few miles away. Kincaid Park has miles of trails, and the occasional moose.

Last week, we finally started seeds. These included a few open-pollinated cream delphiniums from David Bassett and some Pagan Purples from Dowdeswell Delphiniums in New Zealand. How viable these seeds still are we will have to see as delphiniums seeds don't last too well even if refrigerated.

My order from Dowdeswell for this year features the awesome picottee delphinium #28. I am very excited to see how these seeds turn out.
http://www.delphinium.co.nz/SeedlineGallery.htm

Germinating are: the annual fragrant annual lupine, Dwarf Pink Fairy, some red ones from Seeds of Distinction, and the Russell hybrids. Edith already has some new annual Camelot foxgloves from Thompson & Morgan up as well as some white dracocephalum, lavatera, and malva Mystic Merlin.

Yesterday, Edith started some Black Knight scabiosa, sapiglossus, malva, Braveheart and the peony poppy, White Cloud. Hopefully today we will start the single colored stocks: white, rose, and crimson.

Next week, I will start some open-pollinated seeds from Pyper's Plum and Taplin's Treasure(see delphiniums page for photos). Of course with open pollinated seeds we will get quite a mix of colors!

5 Fragrant Favorites:

Stocks - These matthiola incana can be purchased in individual colors from The Fragrant Path. I recommend buying at least 2 packets of each and keeping the extra in the refrigerator for next year. Try the night-scented stocks matthiola bicornis in peat pots as they are difficult to transplant. The scent of all the stocks seems to be more noticeable at dusk.

Flowering Tobacco - Nicotiana alata is widely available. These annual plants come alive at night. Plant them near to where you can enjoy their jasmine-like fragrance.

Dames Rocket - Hesperis matronalis is a biennial that comes in purple or white. If you plant whole clumps of this plant in the evening with its damask-like perfume. Although not as fragrant try hesperis steveniana as it might flower in its first year and is a great complement to apricot-colored roses. We grow these plants by the hundreds as they bloom early alongside trollius and the great Himalayan poppy.

Wallflowers - Cheiranthus cheiri acts as an biennial here although the Siberian wallflower, erysium asperum has sometimes reseeded itself.

Night Phlox - Zaluzianskya smells like powdered sugar at night. Again, start it in peat pots or where you want to enjoy it because it can be difficult to transplant.

Most of the seeds mentioned above can be obtained very inexpensively from
THE FRAGRANT PATH
P.O. Box 328
Fort Calhoun, Nebraska 68023

Xmas 2004

As we settle down for yet another Alaskan winter we do so with a house full of orchids, a garage full of fish, and thoughts of skiing to come. To date puddle jumping seems more appropriate than skiing. Last winter, Edith did manage to out ski David at every turn. Was it superior technique or better equipment? David claims it was the latter.

David's koi hobby has grown and is still growing. How about a couple of 100 gallon plastic horse troughs in your living room? Yes, you guessed it another normal year has passed in the Goodgame household.

An early snowstorm sent David and Edith scrambling to get the fish into the garage. As they did so with a huge explosive bang, out went the electricity and the oxygen supply to all the fish tanks. The power was off for 10 hours. Fortunately, only 1 fish succumbed during this time and another one jumped out of the trough onto the garage floor. Of course it had to be our favorite fish. Now this fish, Oliver named after Charles Dicken's Oliver Twist is a very special koi because it is quite the friendly type, especially if you are his next source of food. Oliver is perpetually hungry. Every time you go near Oliver he greets you with his mouth wide open expecting you to provide him with yet another free meal. Oliver will eat out of your hand too, and has charmed many a visitor to the garden with his amicable demeanor.

Now guess which koi managed to jump out, probably in search of the nearest restaurant. As the snow covered the ground outside, Oliver covered the garage. This excursion was eventually curtailed by a screaming Edith, mortified that our favorite pet was now lying rather stiffly in a small puddle of blood on the garage floor. David tossed the wayward adventurer back into the trough and went inside to sulk. Within a week, and after much medication and praying Oliver is swimming around the tank with his mouth wide open as usual. By the way, we later discovered that Oliver is actually a female fish.

Anyone who tells David you can't do something is just asking for trouble. So when someone told David it is impossible to bring delphinium plants into the US from England off went David to do just that. Now the importing of delphinium plants is no easy thing. First you have to a phytosanitary certificate issued where the plants are grown and second the plants have to clear US customs whereupon they are often seized as if some prized stolen orchid or illegal drug. Such a venture might seem a mission impossible, but not to David. Unfortunately, the only delphinium supplier who had the plants David wanted just happened to be in the dairy business, you know mad cows and all that. And after many visits from the Department of Health looking for mad cows, the last thing this dairy farmer wanted was an inspector all over his plant nursery as well. Undaunted, David ordered 20 plants. After phone calls to plant inspectors all over the UK, David found an inspector who was willing and able to check out David's delphiniums that very day. The washing of each baby delphinium cutting was no problem except for the fact this meticulous operation was performed while numerous members of the family took baths and used the toilet facilities.

On arriving back in the US David confidently marched up to the US customs plant inspection area phytosanitary certificate in hand only to be told that his plants would have to be confiscated and inspected somewhere else. As a rather heated David explained that all his paperwork was in order and no one was going to separate him from his plants another customs officer kindly showed David her harnessed revolver muttering these issues are now a matter of national security. After many nervous minutes had elapsed with the customs officer’s hand on her holster and David’s hand on his paperwork the standoff ended and David and his plants were allowed through. David had forgotten just one or 2 minor details. The garden was full so there wasn't anywhere to actually plant the delphiniums. These plants had survived a traumatic journey only to fall prey to the fastidious tastes of the Goodgame's slug population. Maybe a plant or 2 might survive.

In the garden itself we raised $1,000 from our biennial Open House, monies that will help build 2 new raised rose beds downtown. This time it did not rain the whole time we opened up our garden. In fact this year we were subjected to constantly hot and rain-free weather all summer. Yes we complained about the heat the whole time.

David will soon be a married to a real Master Gardener. Although both Edith and David started the Master Gardener correspondence course together Edith has completed many more parts of the course than David who spent more time planting stereo speakers all over the garden rather than studying. To date the garden speaker collection stands at 8. Now half the neighborhood can listen in with David as he pretends to conduct his favorite classical music. And half the neighborhood can complain about David's awful habit of listening to British rock bands whose lead singers can't sing.

Meanwhile Edith has taken up yoga and acupuncture, claiming it helps her relax and stay relatively stress-free. As David's koi buying antics increased so too did Edith's yoga and acupuncture visits. As we write this Xmas letter, one side of the garage is humming with the sounds of pumps, filters, and fish heaters. Remember those two 100 gallon plastic horse troughs? Well, they were replaced by two of the 300 gallon variety. As David's car sits shivering in the driveway the fish are warm and happy and wish you a Merry Christmas!! We do too!!!

English Delphiniums,
Alaskan Style
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