It’s interesting to see how weather affects plants. Last year it got so hot so fast that none of my columbines bloomed. In fact many of them didn’t even peek out of the ground and I wondered if they were dead. This year we’re doing a Seattle thing—very little sun and a whole lotta wet. I’ve got columbines blooming that I don’t even remember planting.
This one I do remember planting. It’s ‘Winky Red & White’:
I also grow ‘Winky Purple & White’ but I’m posting a photo from a couple of years ago because my plant is buried under some overzealous daylilies. Usually the columbines bloom long before the daylilies leaf out, but with all the rain we’ve had my daylilies have been growing like crazy weeds.
Columbines bloom in the spring and early summer and prefer moist soil which is probably why they are popping up all over my flowerbeds this year. The Winky series grows 14 to 18 inches tall. The plants prefer partial shade but can be grown in full sun if they have some protection during the hottest part of the day.