Although I am featuring Aquilegia William Guinness, today’s post is also covering other Aquilegias in our garden.
Aquilegias or Columbines look outstanding, whether in the mixed border or stand alone. William Guinness has been in our back garden for years. The deep purple flowers with white centre is very eye catching and the feathery fine cut foliage sets the blooms off perfectly.
Columbines are fully hardy in the North east. I remember the first time I spotted these plants in a garden many many years ago. I thought they were something exotic, and would only grow for gardeners with much more experience than myself.
William Guinness starts to flower in late Spring and carries on blooming well into June.
Hardiness – Fully hardy
Height – 75cm
Position – Full sun/partial shade in free draining soil
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Another Aquilegia in the garden is Flabellata Ministar
This one again has the white centre, but with pale blue outer petals. Flabellata Ministar at only 30cm tall looks best in the rockery, or at the very front of the border.
Last year seen its introduction to our woodland area where it performed well and looked great, producing a good succession of blooms from late Spring well into June.
Aquilegias are often referred to as a short lived perennial, I suspect they have a longer lifespan in the cooler temperatures of Aberdeen. I find this especially so with the ones which have deep purple flowers, like William Guinness and Aquilegia Rockii which have been in the same position in the garden for about ten years.
— Mail Order Flabellata Ministar—
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This one, Aquilegia Fragrans has long been a favourite of ours.
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