Columbine

I’m not big on spring-blooming perennials but when I saw the beautiful purple blooms of this ‘McKana’s Giants’ Columbine (aquilegia), I just had to have it.

Columbines like partial-shade conditions and well-drained soil. Their biggest pest is leaf miners. The insects tunnel between leaf layers and leave squiggly white lines on the leaves but don’t really harm the plant.

Columbines bloom for several weeks in late spring and come in all sorts of colors and sizes. You can even start them inside from seed, although they won’t bloom until the following year.

Columbine means “dove” in Latin. If you look closely at the upside-down flower buds, they resemble a group of doves in a circle.