Another alternative is for you to make a post here (a lot more potential traders here) and make your Subject of Posting line be whatever you are looking for...like Wanted:Veggies. You could then either list in your post, or better yet, on your Member Trade List, what seeds you have available for trade. There are a lot of folks here who have veggie and herb seeds of all kinds to trade. Sue...chemocurl

Molineux, The delphinums I'm growing are like the one's you posted from the antique rose forum not the magic fountains. Do you know what those are called? I've collected a few seeds from mine and will gladly share with anyone that wants them. Apparently delph seed has a short shelf life. They are incredibly beautiful planted near my Russian sage, heliotrope, peonies and a fairy rose. They've been flowering not stop. I have the blue and white like in your picture, plus I have a very pale blue that's striking. The seeds on those haven't dried yet.

Ahughes (or anybody else), if you're interested in a trade or SASBE, check out my exchange list... Esh-ga, thanks for the good wishes on the winter-sowing. So far done 65 containers, including 38 native species and several cultivars of native species. Its been fun, and I can't wait to see how well things germinate and grow! Winter-sowing affords the opportunity to grow lots of natives that would be difficult or impossible to get at nurseries, or exorbitantly expensive to buy as plants. I bought lots of native seeds (and a few non-native) this winter and offered extras on the Seed Exchange forum. There was a lot of interest in native seeds, which was nice. But I was dismayed to see people trading invasive species like Euonymous alatus (burning bush) or Ailanthus altissima (tree of heaven). One poster even explained on her exchange page how she grows Oriental bittersweet and keeps it contained on a trellis so it's okay! Yeah...only if she strips off every berry...if she saw how it's strangling native trees around here, she might change her mind!

I have had good luck with English Delphinium (Delphinium elatum--seed from the Delphinium Society in U.K.). They are 4 to 5 1/2 foot beauties that get semi shade in the hot Chicago afternoons. After trial and error, I got most of mine to overwinter (for 6 years so far) by giving them excellent drainage and making sure no stray leaves or plant material make them soggy over the cold months. They like rose food. Also, they like 2 or 3 tablespoons of powdered lime. When I feel a plant might be in competition with tree or shrub roots, I sink a 16" wide plastic pot into the ground and fill with planters mix, some coarse sand, a little lime and a little blood meal. They thank me with beautiful leaves and 2 flowering cycles. (You have to cut back the depleted first blooms to get the second blooming). They get water from a drip hose , along with my roses. If I mulch, I never put the mulch within an inch of the crown (stems). This is one plant that will rot if the crown gets too wet. The biggest challenge is preventing wind damage, rigging stakes and cord that actually do the job and aren't too obtrusive. All the books on delphiniums warn against ruining the root system and crown by placing the stakes too close in, but none say how to avoid the ugliness and unnatural appearance of the stakes. I keep waiting for some clever person to invent something, some almost invisible corkscrew-like thing that will not touch the base of the plant. I've wracked my brain, but I guess I'm not that clever person. They're pretty easy; they've never had a disease problem (unlike the roses!) and the only work is the necessity to stake.