Meetings with plants: aquilegia
Bramble & Briar #110
It’s a hot, dry May, and I linger in the dappled shade that the first half of the garden enjoys. There’s a woodland edge kind of vibe I get to share with some of my favourite plants, not least the aquilegias – or columbines (or granny’s bonnets if you want to be really twee about it) – which have been leafing up for weeks now but have only recently hoisted flowers high above their foliage.
The first to bloom is the mysterious pink variety that appeared one day several years ago, and shows no desire to leave. This is what I mean about paying attention to what your garden wants to grow – she shows you this kind of thing, and you go out in search of variations on the theme. Cue the furry teddybear ‘Barlow’ varieties – double-flowered pompoms without the characteristic ‘spurs’ on the back, the bits that are reputed to look like the talons of an eagle, giving the aquilegia its name (from auqilla, the Latin for eagle). Unlike may doubles, these are not sterile and produce just as much seed as the single-flowered varieties. And even if they didn’t, I wouldn’t be able to resist including them here.
The white Aquilegia vulgaris ‘Nivea’ is out in force, though we’re still waiting for Aquilegia chrysantha ‘Yellow Queen’ to put in an appearance this year. Quite possibly she’s not recovered from the insult of being sat upon by a spaniel last year. Some characters are just a bit touchy.
for more on this part of the garden…
