“Flowers will always try, and look their best, no matter what the season or reason.” 
― Anthony T. Hincks

Every spring I get to enjoy a gift from the past. My mother and I are both avid gardeners and sharing seeds connected us in a unique way by having some similar plants in our gardens. I live in Ontario and she lives in British Columbia, so our growing zones are quite different, so there is a limit to our ability to share. Many years ago, she shared the seeds of this particular plant with me, and it has grown in may garden ever since.

One in particular, that  has worked remarkably well for both of us is this variety of Columbine, which we referred to as Mountain Columbine is actually Aquilegia vulgaris var. stellata ‘Nora Barlow’

This ‘frilly’ columbine, one of the so-called rose or clematis flowered aquilegias, where the sepals are doubled and the outer ones have an attractive green tinge. Nora Barlow was a granddaughter of Charles Darwin and this plant, popular for more than 300 years, was found growing in her garden by the nurseryman Allan Bloom.

So, there is also the pleasure of finding the history of our shared flowers, which likely came from her mother or grandmother. I never did ask where the seeds came from. Interestingly, hers did not propagate one year and she came to me asking if I could send some seeds back her way.

Nikon D800
Tamron SP AF 90mm f/2.8 Di Macro 1:1 (272ENII)@90mm
1/400 sec, f/7.1, ISO 800

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http://www.edlehming.com