Tuesday 22 May 2012

So good they named it thrice



Whether you call these 
aquilegias


because aquila is the Latin for eagle
and the petals remind you of an eagle's claw,
or columbine


because columba is Latin for dove
and the flowers remind you of a dove's wing*
or Granny's Bonnet,


because, well you get the picture. . .


this early summer naturalised flower has never been so abundant,


or so welcome, in my otherwise untended flowerbeds.


* See Sue's pictures last year for the whole bird!



7 comments:

  1. When living in England, they were always one my absolute favourites: hardy, reliable and utterly happy to be neglected!

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  2. They are growing magnificently outside my window here too, and I never knew that they were columbines; I like them all the more for it.

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  3. They will always be known to me as Old Granny Bonnets because that's what my Mum has always called them.

    I've got quite a few this year that have self seeded and they look great...one of my fave's x

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  4. I hated them in my little Newcastle garden - they all reverted to a muddy pink, and they hosted greenfly as though there might be a bug famine coming....

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  5. Our garden is awash with them and how I love them and the way they seem to mutate (colourwise) from year to year.

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  6. I didn't know the other names for columbine. I like to take the seeds and sprinkle them in the wilder parts of my garden. They are much prettier than weeds and happily prolific, aren't they?

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  7. Columbine for me too, more romantic I feel.

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