Aquilegias

  

Its that time of year in the garden which I love, because it's when the Aquilegias start to come into flower. I first discovered Aquilegias about 15 years ago when one decided to make its home in my garden. It appeared as some interesting leaves in the fruit garden. Probably having been deposited as a seed by a passing bird or blown in by the wind from a neighbouring garden.

I didn't know what it was, but I decided it wasn't a weed because the leaves were really quite lovely. So I lifted it and placed it in a better place to grow and where I could keep my eyes on it.

It rewarded me some time later with a pretty blue flower. Then I was able to identify it as an Aquilegia, a cottage garden plant also known a Columbine or Granny's Bonnet.

For the next few years it grew happily and each spring I looked forward to seeing these lovely blue flowers, which by now had formed a little clump under the oak tree. It spread around the garden popping up in places where I would not have planted it but where it looked quite at home.

I then discovered that there were other varieties and colours and I wanted more.  Whenever I visited a garden centre and saw a different one, I couldn't resist buying it.

So now I have Aquilegias all over my garden, in different colours,  blue, dark pink, pale creamy yellow, and pale pink and my latest purchase, white. I just love them. I love the delicate ferny foliage and the dainty nodding flower heads on their slender stems. They have a tendency to seed themselves all over the place, sometimes coming up as completely different colours from the original plant, but they are never in the way, never invasive.  They just look so natural and grow well in my part shady garden.  They look especially  good in a woodland setting.

They are a lovely old fashioned cottage garden plant, which is probably why I like them so much as it's my style of planting. I keep saying I won't buy any more, but I still do.