Aquilegia or Columbine is an early blooming spring plant. You can buy cultivated versions or have wild versions in your garden.
Aquilegia comes from the Latin word for eagle (aquila), as the shape of the flower petals are said to resemble an eagle’s claw. We usually call it columbine or Granny’s Bonnet.
In early spring the leaves will develop .. all frilly around the edges. It likes sun but prefers some shade. I grow mine in a north facing garden.
Beautiful blooms in varying colours will appear.
.. reds, pinks, yellows, whites, purples …
After blooming the seed pods will develop. Let the flower die and fall off leaving the seedpod.
Let the pod dry on the plant until it starts to open. That’s the time to snip it off else it will self seed itself. The seeds are very tiny. You can sprinkle them around the main plant for new plants next spring. If you plant the seeds in the spring you may only get leaves the first year. Nature will take care of the plants that self seed and you will have some new volunteer plants the next spring.
If you are a seed collector you can print a seed packet or seed label to swap your seeds in.
More from the gardener side: garden areas, bulbs, corms & tubers, plant profiles, seeds & seedpods, veggies & herbs,
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