Named after a bird, Victorians associated Larkspur with lightness and frivolity. It’s one of the first cool-season flowers I grew. Larkspur prefer to be directly seeded into the ground, making them a perfect beginner flower.

In warm climates (Texas!), pop seeds in the freezer for a week or two before direct sowing in the fall for a healthy, early spring crop. Larkspur and delphinium are often confused and the names used interchangeably, but typically Larkspur refers to the annual flower, delphinium its perennial counterpart (often with thicker blooms along stems and taller spikes).