Back in the early 1990s, top delphinium breeder David Bassett gave me a plant of his ‘Summerfield Oberon’. This is a gorgeous delphinium, the flowers are a sumptuous deep purple with a white eye. I really liked it and used a picture of it on the cover my book, Hardy Perennials, published in 1995.

Strangely, I now see that although the plant is on the cover I utterly failed to discuss it in the book itself! How did I manage that? How did my editor not notice? You can find out more about in on David Bassett’s website.

Unfortunately ‘Summerfield Oberon’ was only ever available from a very few nurseries in Britain (mainly delphinium specialists), and not at all in North America as far as I know (I’d be delighted to be corrected). It clung on in Britain, down to just one supplier in 2005, but never quite disappeared altogether. To be honest, I thought it had completely gone otherwise I’d have ordered a plant to replace the one I lost when I moved.

Now I see it’s listed under “New Plants for 2011” in the Hayloft Plants catalogue. This is one of those occasions when the line between “new” and “new in this catalogue” can be a little blurred. Clearly it’s not brand new, it’s been around almost 20 years. But I certainly commend Hayloft for adding it to their range and bringing this superb plant to a wider audience.

And the book, which won a Garden Media Guild Award in 1995, is still available too.

Readers in Britain can order Delphinium ‘Summerfield Oberon’ from Hayloft Plants. They do not ship plants to North America, but they do ship to Germany, Austria and other European countries.