Bunch Of Flowers

These cornflowers have just shot up - they now have 2 canes to support them, they must be about 5ft high (150cm).  They mark a special place in the garden.

That they have grown so tall reminds me of a story when I worked in a garden nursery and when I knew precisely nothing about plants.  

The company was at the Scottish Horticultural Society Show and we were there to sell our plants.

We had a selction of dwarf delphiniums, cute little things about 6 inches/15cm tall.

A couple saw the pictures of the flowers and thought they would be ideal for a window box but they asked me about how tall they would grow.  I was not the best person to ask.  I guessed and said they would probably be about 12 to 18 inches when they were full grown.  This answer was based on absolutely no knowledge but I was 22 and full of confidence.  They bought the lot.

Later I asked my boss about them.  She told me that normal Delphiniums grow to about 2 meters (7ft ) in height, but the dwarf version would only grow to about 150cm (5 ft).  

I'm guessing the couple saw nothing out of their window for the whole summer.

And thus ended my career as a horticultural consultant.