Delphinium 'Michael Ayres'

A classic cottage garden perennial, delphiniums bear tall upright spikes laden with intensely-coloured flowers. They’re useful for providing height and a touch of drama to ornamental borders, but work equally well in the vase. Single-flowered varieties attract pollinators.

Delphinium 'Michael Ayres' has purple flowers which gradually become lighter towards the centre, with a contrasting dark eye. It works well with a variety of other blooms, including pale and brightly coloured, both in the border and the vase.

For best results grow Delphinium 'Michael Ayres' at the back of a sunny border in moist but well-drained soil. Although their flowering season is quite short, delphiniums can often be coaxed into producing a few later flowers if the flower spikes are cut down as soon as the blooms are over.