Columbines
Occasionally someone will ask me if I have a favorite flower. If I had to choose it would probably be the whole genus of tulips. However, I'm rather partial to Columbines, also. They reseed and come up all over the place, sometimes in charming locations and positions.
Over the years when training a new Helper how to weed an area, I have been known to say more than once, "Take out everything except (fill in the blank - whatever it was at the time) - oh, and leave the Columbines. I know they don't belong here, but I'm partial to them so they get by with more than the other plants do." I've even had a helper or two quote it back to me at times. "The columbines get by with more than the other plants do."... then they grin.
Most people are growing the newer hybrid varieties, but I prefer the old fashioned, dangling, down-looking ones: the grandmother's garden type, and the Granny Bonnets. Then too, I think our native Columbine (Aquilegia canadensis) is totally delightful in its unusual color combo. I love the way it comes up everywhere - though too much in some areas like the Rockery.
The long, deep nectaries appear to be custom made perfect matches for deep draughts by hummingbirds. They love them! I once saw a little fellow with a full tummy stop to perch on the utility line that runs to our house. He lit on the wire, then hiccuped or burped, and I saw a thin stream of nectar squirt from his mouth. If you are not familiar with this flower, here are a few examples.
Seen here with English Bluebells
For several years the columbines settled in and spread over an area covered by a White Pine tree forming a veritable Columbine Garden. They seemed happy there, but starting in spring 2006 something began eating the foliage.
This year, 2007, tiny green worms ate all the leaves leaving bare stems. The plants leafed out again. Then the columbine leaf miners struck - devastating them. One Helper spent days hunting down Columbines and cutting them back to the ground; hoping they were caught in time and the leaf miner larvae was still in there as the foliage was sent to the municipal landfill. All the while, I knew it was impossible to find all the plants that needed to be cut back. It was so bad, I now wonder if we will have ANY next year.
I don't use pesticides here. Anyway, it would be impossible to treat the Columbines for they have naturalized and are scattered all over this full acre of rugged terrain. I depend on Nature's checks and balances. I am wondering when it is going to kick in and start working. In the meanwhile, my Columbines may get totally wiped out. If that happens, maybe giving the place a few years rest before replanting them will take care of the creepy, crawly, flying problem - whatever it is.
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