Saturday 25 May 2013

Aquilegia For May

This year, I'm taking the late Geoff Hamilton's advice and visiting a nursery each month with a view to buying a plant which is in flower for my garden. Doing this should ensure that I have something blooming in my garden every month of the year.

Although I've already got aquilegias in my garden, I couldn't resist this variety when I visited the garden centre today. It's aquilegia vulgaris Clementine Purple, and though I'm not really a lover of double flowers because they make it so much harder for bees to get to the nectar, I thought this variety looked so different to the others I've got in my garden.

My other aquilegias have downward facing flowers, whereas this is a short, bushy plant with upward facing flowers.

It will be very interesting to see if this plant self seeds as prolifically as the other aquilegias in my garden do. If so, I doubt any will resemble the parent plant, they all seem to revert to type.

24 comments:

  1. My black aquilegia still keeps coming up black each year so you may be lucky.
    Love from Mum
    xx

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    1. I have plants which come back the same each year, it's when they self seed that they tend to cross, then you never know what you'll end up with.

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  2. Aquilegias are beautiful plants. They look so frail but they come through some very tough weather to light up the garden in spring.

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    1. They're a must in my garden, good hardy plants, but as you say, they look quite delicate.

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  3. That's really unusual, it's lovely.

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    1. I haven't seen an aquilegia like this before, I liked it as soon as I saw it.

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  4. That is a lovely one. I'm in a phase of dark purple/black flowers. With a good contrasting backdrop they are stunning.

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    1. I saw a gorgeous, nearly black, viola at the same time. I wish I'd bought it now.

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  5. What a lovely colour. I'm not sure I've seen aquilegias that face upwards before.

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    1. It's really unusual facing upwards as it does. I haven't seen one like this before either.

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  6. AnonymousMay 26, 2013

    A good choice. I've got a few self-seeded aquilegias on the plot. Flighty xx

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    1. Most of the aquilegias in my garden are self seeded, there's only a few which I've either bought or grown from seed. Some are quite large plants now.

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  7. You never know it may cross and you could end up with your very own hybrids.

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    1. I thought that myself. Self seeded ones could be quite unusual.

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  8. Now that's a great colour Jo and you can never have too many
    aquilegias :) A most appropriate choice for May.

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    1. It's a gorgeous colour. They had a similar variety in a pale pink, but it didn't look quite as lovely as this one.

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  9. That is a very unusual aquilegia very pretty

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    1. I haven't seen one quite like this before, I wouldn't have guessed it was an aquilegia by it's flowers but the leaves give it away.

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  10. I'm very much in to Aquilegias at present too. Most of mine are the stock favourites though - pink and blue.

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    1. It's the same in my garden, mostly pink and blue, but I do have a couple of McKana hybrids which are different colours.

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  11. AnonymousMay 28, 2013

    I love aquilegias. Mine are just starting to open in the garden. I have a couple I have bought but the others are a motley crew of self sown varieties. I'm normally quite ruthless at pulling them out but haven't had time this year. Apparently the 'Barlow' types are the most stable and come true from seed.

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    1. I think self sown aquilegias would take over the garden if you let them. I do allow some to stay, but weed the others out.

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  12. I really love aquilegias, they seed everywhere in my garden and are remarkably tough, no wind ever manages to blow them down. I've never seen the short one, it is a lovely colour.xxxx

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    Replies
    1. I've got lots of self seeded aquilegias in the garden but they're always blue or pink. The McKanas are nice colours, a little different.

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