It seems like everyday I go out there to check on them there is a new stalk appearing with blooms that go great with the last of the 'Queen of Night' Tulips and the Allium 'Purple Sensation' that is blooming just behind in this photo.
Like in many places across the country the honey bee count seems to be lower than normal and in my garden it's not any different but the odd bee I have spotted has been visiting the Columbine blooms.
Columbine are (short-lived) perennials therefore they won't bloom the first year from seed. They may not even bloom the second year because they also like to be a certain size before blooming. Another flower I grow that has the same characteristcs is echinacea.
ReplyDeleteHi Old Roses,
ReplyDeleteYeah they are short lived which isn't so bad since they reseed themselves so easily in the garden.
I agree about the Echinacea last year my seeds were all foliage and this year I should be getting a lot of blooms. I almost didn't know what to do with all the clumps that have popped up and I was moving around earlier.
Hey there!
ReplyDeleteI love columbine...one of the reasons is that it self sows so easily. Same thing with the french hollyhocks that I posted this week. I bought one itsy bitsy plant in East Texas a couple (maybe 3) years ago. It self seeds almost to a fault. But they're easily dug up and passed on. Mine are the size of bushes! About those bees...if you can't get them to come to visit your columbine, how ARE you going to get them to come??? I have many more bees than I had last year. I have planted butterfly/hummingbird plants predominantly this season and it seems to make the bees happy. We also have a beekeeper down the road a mile or so. He begs all of us "not to kill his bees"...like I ever would!
I love columbine. oddly though, they self sowed on the other side of my fence. I tried to dig them up and plant them back in my yard, but they just wilted and died. So now I have to "visit" them instead.
ReplyDelete(To clear up any confusion: I don't steal plants, there's an empty lot next to me).
I love this columbine. It's exactly like the ones in my garden which I grew from seed last year. Your phots are just stunning.
ReplyDeleteSara from farmingfriends
Love columbine too!! I really like anything that reseeds itself. I have been transplanting my blackeye susan and purple cone flower on to the neighbors lot. She doesn't mind.
ReplyDelete@Chris
ReplyDeleteYou're lucky you got so many bees near you. I think some of the local bees may be affected with CCD, on the past two days I've only seen two honey bees in the garden and I'm starting to worry. In the spring we normally have to keep the windows shut to keep them all out. This year it hasn't been a problem.
@rosemarie
Thanks for the comment. I'll have to try to collect the seeds so they sow in the space I want them to. Funny thing is that I just noticed a stray Columbine flower similar to mine on the outside of a neighbor's garden. I'd never seen one this color around here. Everyone seems to buy the bright colored ones that are sold at HD.
@Sara
Is yours called 'Black barlow?' When I was traded these seeds I forgot to make note of the name but I could have sworn the 'Black barlow' was the one I was trading for. Thanks for the compliment on the photos.
@kc mo garden guy
It's good to share your extras I've been sharing a few things with the neighbors since I had a bunch of unknown cone flower plants.
Does you have a picture of columbine as it is growing the first year? I have not been gardening that long and I'm not sure about all the seedlings I see. (I decided to sow directly into the soil a few different seeds that I haven never grown before.) I also am not completely sure about some of the weeds. (or what I think are weeds!) If you have one, I would love to see it! Thanks.
ReplyDeleteI'm Schrodinger. I'm in Texas. I bought Texas-native Hinckley's Columbine plants (Aquilegia hinckleyana) 3 years ago. This Columbine does very well in this area. I see them everywhere in the spring! I've had them before and they are simply gorgeous when they bloom. Only thing is, these plants have not bloomed or even set buds. They've grown in size and look very healthy and strong. They're in the same place where I've had gorgeous Columbines before that bloomed profusely. These plants? Nothing. It's odd-- the lighting is ideal and the soil tested out okay. The plants are now huge. I don't have time, patience or space for plants that refuse to produce. If they don't flower for me this year, I'm ripping them out.
ReplyDeleteMelinda,
ReplyDeleteI think you asked your question when I was gone from blogging. Sorry I didn't get a chance to answer it.
Schrodinger,
I had the same problem with the Columbine I pictured above and was about to toss them out the year they bloomed. Glad I didn't.