Columbine (Aquilegia) - My colorful mix - Seeds - The Queen of the Cottage Garden

My colorful special blend (Lucky dip for flower beds & woodland edges)

Scope of delivery: 30/100 seeds respectively.

Bring a piece of romantic cottage garden home! These seeds come from my own colorful mixture of the plants seen in the photos.

What makes this seed special: The plants that grow from these seeds can look completely different due to cross-pollination. In my garden, no two plants are alike. Specific color requests are not possible due to the mix – but in return, you receive an absolute one-of-a-kind specimen with every seed that you won't find in any garden center!

Growth & Appearance

• Lifespan: Perennial, completely hardy plant.

• Growth height: Usually between 40 and 80 cm depending on cross-pollination.

• Habit: Very graceful and loose structure. The stems are thin, the blue-green foliage delicate and almost fern-like.

• Bloom: From May to July, the fascinating, bell-shaped flowers with their distinctive spurs seem to float over the foliage.

Origin Various wild species of columbine are found in temperate zones across almost the entire Northern Hemisphere, often at light forest edges or in mountain regions. It has been an absolute classic in our cottage gardens for centuries.

Ingredients (IMPORTANT NOTE) Columbines belong to the buttercup family (Ranunculaceae). All parts of the plant (especially the seeds) are toxic and contain, among other things, the alkaloid magnoflorine and cyanogenic glycosides. The plant is therefore purely ornamental and absolutely not suitable for consumption! The plant sap can also cause irritation to sensitive skin.

Usage

• In the garden: An indispensable plant for semi-shaded beds, woodland edges, or romantic natural gardens.

• For the insect world: The flowers with their long nectar spurs are an absolute favorite treat for long-tongued bumblebees and butterflies.

• As a cut flower: Also looks excellent and very delicate in spring and early summer bouquets.

Historical In the art of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, the columbine was a highly symbolic plant. Due to its flower shape, which with a little imagination resembles a flock of small doves, it was considered a symbol of the Holy Spirit (hence its English name Columbine, derived from columba = dove).

Curiosities Columbines are extremely promiscuous in the garden! If you have different colors and shapes in the garden, they cross-pollinate merrily among themselves. In addition, they like to "wander": they self-seed and suddenly appear the next year in places in the garden where you didn't even plant them. It is precisely this characteristic that ensures the wonderful, surprising interplay of colors in your seed mixture!

Location, care & other important things

• Location: Preferably partial shade. Full midday sun is generally not tolerated very well in the long term.

• Soil: Humus-rich, loose, and moderately moist. No waterlogging.

• Care: Extremely low-maintenance. Anyone who wants to prevent uncontrolled self-seeding in their own garden should cut off the wilted flower stalks in good time before the seeds ripen.

Sowing instructions: Columbine (Aquilegia)

Columbines are so-called cold germinators. They have been given a built-in protective mechanism by nature so that they do not germinate in the warm autumn and then freeze to death in winter.

When and how to sow?

• The cold period: The seeds must be stratified before germination. This means they need the winter (and its cold stimuli) before they germinate.

• The best time: Ideally, sow the seeds outdoors in their permanent spot before November.

• Sowing depth (light germinators): Columbines germinate better with light. Therefore, only scatter the seeds on raked, weed-free soil and cover them with a maximum of a very thin layer of sand or soil (or better, just press them down) so they don't blow away.

• Germination: Nature does the rest! In the spring, as the days get warmer, the seeds begin to germinate in their spot.