Mid-Atlantic Gardening: Corydalis and primroses, 0 by rcn48

rcn48 wrote:
I had been trying to get pictures of some of the work I had been doing in the gardens. I apologize for the quality of the photo - something was going on with my camera or the lighting was just all wrong - taken in the early morning but all the colors looked washed out :( Regardless, this is the one area that I planted Corydalis 'Berry Exciting' (red arrow) - as it grows it should really brighten up this very shady spot. The Primula x bulleesiana is also planted in this bed (on the far right -upright foliage).

Shirley, I'm envious of your Primroses, beautiful! This is only the first year I've had D. grandiflorum in the garden - planted last October and it's been blooming since the first of June! If I remember correctly this is the cultivar 'Butterfly Blue', but it might be 'Blue Mirror', basically the same plant. I'm getting ready to deadhead them as I've seen fresh new foliage from the base and think maybe it might even rebloom later this summer? There are several new cultivars that have specifically been bred for heat tolerance that you might have better luck with - Delphinium 'Summer Nights' is one of them http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/88948/, a deep blue, 'Summer Blues' a light blue, and a white one that I can't remember the name of right now. Another Delphinium in the gardens that has just been planted this year and is just about ready to bloom is Delphinium exaltatum - good description of this lovely native here http://www.munchkinnursery.com/catalogitems/d1.html. I'll try to remember to get pictures when it blooms. Don't give up, you still might be able to have perennial Delphiniums in your garden!