Blue Butterfly is a dwarf delphinium with loose sprays of deep, true-blue flowers, a color genuinely hard to find in the summer garden, on airy plants about eighteen inches tall. It reads more like a wildflower than the towering delphinium spires.

In Birmingham, give it morning sun and afternoon shade with rich, well-drained soil; our heat asks more of delphiniums than our cold does. Cut it back after the first flush for a chance at rebloom. Butterflies and hummingbirds seek it out.