Columbine bloom in spring and can tolerate part shade. I like that they are bee-friendly and attract hummingbirds. The day I bought the white bleeding heart I impulse-shopped a newer columbine variety. This is ‘Earlybird Purple Blue’:
Columbine will naturalize, and for awhile I did have some that self-seeded to new areas each year. They were in the Winky series. But after several years of drought I think they finally gave up.
This new cultivar was released in 2021 and grows 14 to 20 inches tall. The pretty bluish-lavender flowers are down-facing when they first emerge.
But they face outward when they bloom.
‘Earlybird Purple Blue’ is deer and rabbit-resistant. I tucked my plant into a semi-shaded area under a serviceberry tree. It will get full sun in the spring until the trees fully leaf out and then it will only get early morning and late afternoon sun.
This perennial is hardy in growing zones 3-9.