Columbine: My Favorite Flower

In all the world of flowers, Aquilegia blooms, also known as Columbine and Granny's Bonnet, are my favorite. That is saying a lot!

Why do I love them so? I don't know; it's an emotional response. The first time I found one blooming in my garden, I was enchanted. This was soon after we moved to our current home, and I was yet a baby gardener. The charming pink flower with its frilly white petticoat reminded me of a little fairy girl, dressed for a party. I also love the clump forming, fern-like foliage with deeply lobed leaves. Bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds all love these flowers, too, and I love that they love them.

I soon found several more columbines scattered about the property. I suspect these were planted long ago by the original owner of my home, Mrs Dearing, and I think of them as a surprise gift from her. I transplanted my finds to a location in the front garden, and they have flourished in the rich organic mulch that covers the paths in that area. These perennials live only a few years but reseed readily, and every spring I search the paths for new seedlings, which I move to better locations as needed.These photos, taken last year, show columbine blooming beside a path in the front garden along with other spring flowers. My columbine haven't begun blooming yet this year, but they should be flowering by the end of this month.

The many varieties of columbine will cross pollinate, producing offspring with different characteristics. Because I love what I have, which I think is Aquilegia vulgaris, I have hesitated introducing other species. But this past weekend I relented when confronted with the multiple hued blooms with widely space, long spurs that characterize the McKanna hybrids. I bought several and then planted them in the woodland garden away from the others in the front. It will be interesting to see what sort of offspring they produce and if they do as well as my originals.Just planted McKanna hybrids, shown here in the woodland garden in front of spreading yews, have only a few blooms now, but new buds should open as spring unfolds.

Columbine isn't perfect. The foliage is subject to leaf miners, which leave unsightly trails in the leaves. While this doesn't seem to harm the plant, it spoils the beauty. The flowers bloom in spring, then the leaf miners arrive by summer. I usually cut the affected plants back to the ground, and then fresh perfect foliage will sprout back. In my mild climate, the foliage will often persist through the winter.

Aquilegia varieties will grow in hardiness zones 3-8. They do best in well drained, moist soil high in organic matter, and they prefer light to moderate shade. With their naturalizing but never weedy habit, they are most at home in a cottage or woodland type garden.

A Bouquet For You

Other obligations have kept me out of my garden and away from my blog for a few days. Sigh. No time to explore my woodland garden! But one can see this view from the driveway.Would I be happy if I were free to spend every day as I chose, if I had no schedule book full of notations and appointments, and if there were no alarm clock forcing me out of bed before even the birds awaken? You bet I would be, haha, but I think it is a fantasy world even retired folks don't live in. Or do they? I'll find out one day!

Meanwhile, I did steal a few minutes to take some photos of spring blooms. So here is a virtual bouquet, fresh from my garden!

First there are the forsythias whose cheery fluttering blossoms announce the coming of spring:

Next, take a close look at the following blooms, but watch out for the bee when you virtually stick your nose into the working parts, down where the pollinators like to be:Large photo above is Trollius, then below that, clockwise from top left: Flowering quince; Daffodil; Camellia 'Taylor's Perfection'; Camellia 'Gunsmoke'

I can't remember who, but an ancient bard once said that if you have two coins, with one buy bread for the body and with the other buy hyacinths for the soul. I agree. My little grape hyacinths are best appreciated from the ant's point of view. I won't describe the ridiculous position I got myself into to take these pictures. Can you find the ant?Here are some more blue and white blooms with details that deserve a closer look:Clockwise from top left: Phlox subulata; Vinca major; Pansy; Hepatica

And daffodils! Happy, happy daffodils:

Finally, some pink and red camellias complete my bouquet of spring blooms:

March 20 is the first official day of spring, but here in the Deep South we are a little early. Happy gardening!