San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
Brighten your spring garden with these shadeloving beauties
Columbines are one of the prettiest flowers for a garden spot in bright shade. Their distinctive cupshape flowers with the “spurs” in back are immediately recognizable and they showcase an impressive range of colors, everything from white and yellow to red, pink and purple. The flowers can be a single color but many of the hybrids are bicolored. They can be as small as onehalf inch and as large as 5 inches.
Although the columbines most commonly seen at nurseries are hybrids, there are also several California native species. Native or nonnative, the flowers attract bees, and especially hummingbirds, making them an excellent addition to any pollinators garden. And though the hybrids especially are not long lived, columbines are known to politely selfseed in the garden. They are never invasive.
Columbines adapt to a variety of garden conditions. They can grow in full shade if it’s bright enough but can also take full morning or lateafternoon sun. They are not fussy about soil, though they prefer fertile, welldrained soil. They are wellbehaved, making them easy to tuck into an open spot, combine in a mixed planting container or add generously to a woodland bed. And although the flowers add color, they are subtle and blend in with nearby annuals or perennials. Their bloom time is spring; with a little deadheading, that bloom period can extend over several months. Adding to their appeal, they are not prone to disease and tend to be left alone by creatures small (slugs or birds) and large (deer and gophers). Here are a few of my favorites.
Common columbine (Aquilegia vulgaris). This European columbine is one of the most popular types, with an endless array of hybrids. Of note is the Barlow series, with its many colors (white, pink, blue, purple). Sometimes referred to as Clematis columbines, most of the 1½inch flowers take a double form and have short spurs. Their bunched petals have also led this group to be called Granny’s Bonnets. They are a cottage garden staple.
Rocky Mountain columbine (Aquilegia caerulea). Native to Montana, Arizona and New Mexico, this columbine features large, singleform flowers that are bicolored and have long spurs. The starlike, 2½inch flowers have white centers with yellow, pink or light purple contrasting petals and spurs. Varieties include the lavenderflowered Rocky Mountain, the aptly named Rose Queenand the allwhite Krystal. This group sends up tall flowering stems (to 2 feet). When planted in drifts, it makes for a most appealing spring show.
Golden columbine (Aquilegia chrysantha). Native to the Southwest, this tall species is one of the longest blooming columbines going. Yellow Queen forms a clump 3 feet tall and 2 feet wide, with large pure yellow flowers that give off a pleasant fragrance. Plus, it’s a magnet for hummingbirds. For something unusual (and rare) try the beautiful A. chrysantha ‘Flore Pleno.’ This smaller, fully double variety not only has bunches of yellowtubed flowers but 810 glowing red spurs per flower! McKana hybrids (Aquilegia hybrid). This tall, multicolored columbine is easily found at garden centers and even in sixpacks. Best grown as an annual, its infinite variety of color combinations is a great way to add color to a shady bed.
Native columbines
Western columbine (Aquilegia formosa). This hardy native species is found from Alaska south to Baja California, as well as in Montana and Wyoming. Similar in appearance to Aquilegia ‘Flore Pleno,’ but with fewer spurs, the 2inch nodding flowers attract plenty of bees and hummers.
Serpentine columbine (Aquilegia eximia). This exceptionally tough, longlived and tall (to 5 feet) columbine puts out a multitude of nodding, crownlike flowers, each 2inch bloom a bright scarlet and accentuated with showy, extralong golden stamens. It is found only in California in moist coastal forests.