I saved seeds from my aquilegias last spring, handfuls of them, carefully dried and stored in paper bags. Most of them, though, came from deep purple flowers so I bought a few packs of seeds in lighter colours so I could vary the look. These are such hardy plants that do well in our cool climate and, apart from a tidy-up after flowering, they look after themselves. I adore their pretty cottagey flowers.
You may know them by their common names of Granny’s Bonnets or Columbines. They form clumps and their delicate leaves look like fans. Aquilegias are perennials and are frost hardy – more reasons I like having them in my garden.
As the foliage of spring bulbs dies back, aquilegias send out more leaves and send up long stems with flowers. They sure know how to make an entrance!