I can only ever remember buying one aquilegia plant. We once bought a perennial bundle and an aquilegia plant was included in the mix.
When it flowered as sometimes happens I found that the plant was actually two plants in one - a pink and a blue so I split the plant and ended up with the two below.
The shape of these plants is very 'granny's bonnet'
Then a year or two ago a white flowered plant showed up in the container in which a palm was living. This is the same shape so I presume is an offspring of one of the above plants.
I think this darker pink one must also be one of the original plants children ...
... and also this deep blue one.
I have grown other aquilegias from seed - they were from a packet called McKana Hybrids and have larger flowers.
One that hasn't yet flowered has yellowish leaves.
Then there is this one that has a star shaped flower.
Aquilegias are definitely an interesting addition to the garden - you never know what the flowers will look like until they open or even where a new plant will turn up next!
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I love aquilegias. You're lucky with your offspring, I have loads of seedlings pop up in both the front and back gardens, yet they're always purple, or very rarely pink, nothing else. I've also grown McKana Hybrids from seed, but even with different coloured flowers such as you get from these, the offspring always end up purple or pink.
ReplyDeleteThe white one was a bit of a mystery, Jo. I'm guessing it was a cross between the original pink and purple ones but why white?
DeleteI do enjoy aqueligias but haven't put any in my current garden yet. I should really as I definitely need some colour and as you say its always fun to see where they turn up and what they are when they do.
ReplyDeleteGo for it, Liz - scatter some seed!
DeleteThat's why we love aqueligias...we also got only one plant, but they seem to be able to divide and seed themselves in numerous plants and colors. In a few years you will have a whole field of them :)
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely field that would be, Leanan
DeleteThey look beautiful! I have none of these yet, I like plants which propagate freely themselves and every year there are more and more of them.
ReplyDeleteSo do I Dewberry - unless they overdo things.
DeleteYou're making me jealous now. I'm going through a bit of a craze for Aquilegias. The ones I grew from seed sent me by Diana from "Kebun Malay-Kadazan Girls" are about to flower, so I am really keen to see what colour they will be.
ReplyDeleteYou are jealous of flowers, Mark? You can't eat them you know - or can you? No surely not!
DeleteThese Bs have taken over one end of our garden. I think we only ever bought one single plant - Whenever the missus is looking the other way I thin them out, to no avail - they thrive in the extra space. I know they look lovely! They are proof of the adage: a weed is just a plant in the wrong place. Another feature of weeds is that they are aggressive. I would count Aquilegia as just that!
ReplyDeleteOurs are more retrained than yours, Mal. It's the hardy geraniums that are prolific in our garden!
DeleteI've not many self seeded aquilegia - I do wish and ask for more but few ever appear. There is a new one tucked under a heuchera at the moment and I am eagerly waiting to see what colour it's going to be!
ReplyDeleteYou've a lovely selection going on.
Do you dead head the flowers Angie or cut down the plants before they have chance to seed. OR do you weed your borders efficiently.
DeleteMaybe you should visit Mal
Lovely, lovely plants and tough-as-old-boots up here (they have to be to survive the wind and Daisy jumping on them!)
ReplyDeleteAs always Sue, great photos :}
I'm glad they are Daisy proof Bilbo. No doubt she is just trying to garden like here mum! Give her a hug from me!
DeleteThey are so lovely! I have aqueligias on my wish list, along with a lot of other plants I really would like to grow, but my garden is so full so I need thin, tall plants that I can squeeze in between other plants, and they can't take much of a footprint, there isn't much left!
ReplyDeleteI tried sowing some annual poppies and some gorgeous dark red sunflowers this year, in between other plants, but everything has grown too fast and those poor seedlings are now completely shaded by other foliage, I doubt they will become anything. It said on the package to sow directly and not in pots so that's what I did. I guess it would have been more successful if I had a large field available for them. I wish!
I usually start sunflowers in pots Helene - I'm not good at doing as I am told!
DeleteI seem to have pale pink ones predominating this year - as you say you never know what is going to pop up.
ReplyDeleteMaybe we should try and manually cross pollinate, Elaine ans see what we get.
DeleteOh I love these. I can't get over how tough and hardy they are, even in strong winds they never break. I especially like your blue ones, they're gorgeous.xxxx
ReplyDeleteDelicate looking and yet survivors, Snowbird
DeleteSuch a pretty flowers! It's a wonderful gift from nature to have cross colour flowers!
ReplyDeleteIt is Malar.
DeleteThat was me again not Greenfingers
DeleteI first thought they were grannies bonnet until I got to the close up shots of the flowers. Seems they reproduce just like grannies bonnet too!!
ReplyDeleteThey are grannies' bonnets, Tanya - that is another name for them as is columbine.
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