I have to check and see if I have any larkspur. They certainly are beautiful.

I love Gallilee Blue

I took that picture standing in the center path of the bed. Here's the other side



I think the trick to getting them tall and stately like that is to seed in late summer-early fall. I'd say by early September for most folks.

Karen

It was your larkspur pix on the other website that turned me on to the bright blue.
Just fantastic.
I believe I saw it last year.

Probably. That pic was taken last year.

Karen

Jo Ann, What type of Cosmos did you sow last year? How did they do?

I sowed the 10 foot ones from Allison and some Sea Shells and some red ones which never came up.The seashells did pretty good.
I am new to direct sowing ,my tecnique isnt what it could be.

I always lose a lot to the wind. It seems like no matter how calm it is as I'm preparing and loading my seed shaker, as soon as I get to the planting spot, just as I start sprinkling, a big gust of wind comes by!!

OMG Wind, any breeze will take them. As for poppies I just load a spot for them to germinate. When they sprout in spring they are easier to detect.
I have to get close to the ground to do this.

Maybe I should get closer too. My roadside bed is windy on a calm day because of the traffic.

I sowed this Delphinium Pagan Purple in March. It finally bloomed yesterday.

I was amazed that a breeze I wouldnt give a second thought to ,could take seeds a couple of feet aray.
Maybe I will try the potting soil trick.I dont have anything that resembles sand.

Jo Ann, What is the potting soil trick? Are they calling for snow this week in your area?

Mix seeds with potting soil,then sow. It must be similar to sand mix trick.
No snow here. Further northand east in the mountains.
Maybe Pollyk will get some, who is east of me by about an hour.

They are calling for it Friday down here in our Poconos. I don't think they expect much.

I bought a bag of play sand and used that. I had tried my garden sand, but it was too thick to fit through the holes in my shaker. I too found that a lot of the seeds from OSPS did not germinate last year. It was very disappointing as they came so highly recommended.

You are the second person who reported no germination from OSPS. I think Neal didnt get any poppies either.Or maybe it was you,last spring.
I had ordered Giant White,Blue and Grape. I got nothing.I thought it was because the wind scattered the seeds so broadly. I believe the seeds were not viable.
I am going to check Garden Watchdog to see if anyone else reported no germination.

No It wasn't me Jo Ann. This was the first year that I bought from them. I bought 11 varieties and only 2 germinated. I bought a bunch of cheap seeds from Seedman and a bunch of them germinated.

I just wrote to her to say I changed my rateing from Pos. to Neutral.
She is a decent person so I believe she needs to know about the varieties that didnt germinate.
I cant remember if I wrote last spring.I have an adendum to my note in GWD.

It's a shame. Her seeds were so nicely packaged and labeled. I shared a bunch of them with friends in the Mid Atlantic and almost no one got any germination from them.

If I dont hear from her I will go somewhere else, but she needs to know the reason.