Aquilegia Crown Jewels Mix Seeds - Columbine

Aquilegia 'Crown Jewels Mix' brings together just about every shape or form imaginable for hybrid columbines: single or double, bonnet-shaped or clematis-shaped, plain or two-toned, the spectacular blooms are set against green leaves with gold, bronze or silver margins. When left to self-seed, they will in turn produce new colour combinations due to cross-pollinating. This hardy and easy to grow perennial enjoys part shade and cool, well-drained soil.

Aquilegia (x) hybrida 'Crown Jewels Mix' is a collection of cultivars selected from various species. Aquilegia, commonly known as Columbine or Granny’s Bonnet, belongs to the buttercup or Ranunculaceae family; it occurs naturally in open woodlands, clearings, meadows, rocky slopes and roadside banks of North America, Europe and temperate Asia. Columbines form upright, bushy clumps that grow to a height of 30 to 60 cm in full bloom, for a width of about 30 cm. From May to June, charming spurred flowers emerge at the tip of long, branched stems. Their shape and colour vary tremendously depending on the cultivar or species. The deciduous bluish-green to dark green leaves have a lacy, delicate, clover-like appearance. They are sometimes trimmed with golden, bronze or silvery margins. Aquilegias are short-lived perennials; flowering generally reaches its peak after 2 or 3 years of cultivation. Although they self-seed easily, they are not always true to type when different varieties of columbine are grown in close proximity.

Columbines have been popular ornamental garden plants since the Middle Ages. They will fit in just about anywhere, bringing a discreet lightness and fantasy to mixed borders and perennial beds; they are ideal for underplanting shrubs and trees, growing up slopes or decorating shady rock gardens. They are excellent cut flowers. In old-fashioned cottage style gardens, columbines combine well with perennials such as foxgloves, bellflowers, wood cranesbill, bleeding hearts or lady’s mantle.