DELPHINIUMS ! !

I was reading my book this morning & just thought about the picture on this rather tatty bookmark, it has seen many years of use ?, when it occurred to me that we don't see many Delphiniums around these days. I remember them as a child when we had an abundance of these pretty flowers ( rather like Lupins seem to be out of vogue) .
Originally Delphiniums were credited with valuable medicinal properties& cultivated for their seeds. In the mid 16th century these were powdered & used as a remedy for head lice! Later came the widely-held belief that simply gazing at the flowers would sharpen the eyesight? If only that were true !!
The botanical name is derived from the latin word for " dolphin" & was applied because the immature flowers headswere thought to resemble the stylised dolphins used in armorial design.
Flora Thompson referred to the Delphinium as " A flowers of the dawn ";; because its splendid colours are best appreciated in a cool grey light.
The temperature is much nicer today 21/23% , the humidity is still a tad high but much better to cope with DO HOPE WEDNESDAY IS PROVING A GOOD DAY FOR YOU ALL?