Aquilegia flabellata Cameo Blue and White - Columbine

Aquilegia flabellata 'Cameo Blue & White' is a dwarf columbine with truly bright bicoloured flowers. On beautiful cushions of dense foliage, flowers of deep blue around a white calyx bloom for several weeks in spring. Against the nicely cut bluish-green foliage, typical of Columbines, this colour appears almost luminous. It is a very pretty perennial that will enhance slightly moist and semi-shaded areas of the garden, whether planted in a small rockery or as a border plant. It will also be superb in a container on the terrace or balcony.

Columbines are beautiful and essential perennials, the lightness of their foliage and the original shape of their flowers have long seduced many gardeners. They are perfect for brightening up slightly shaded areas in flower beds. The different shapes, sizes, and colours allow for unique combinations with other perennials. They belong to the Ranunculaceae family. Aquilegia flabellata, also known as dwarf columbine, is a botanical species native to mountainous regions of Japan and Korea. It is a herbaceous perennial plant, with vegetation that sometimes persists in winter.

The variety 'Cameo Blue & White' forms a small, dense tuft of light foliage, reaching 15 cm (6in) in height and 30 cm (12in) in width, from which upward branching floral stems emerge from the end of April, reaching a height of about 25 cm (10in). Each flower, measuring 4 cm (2in) in width and slightly drooping towards the ground, is composed of sepals with horned spurs of a deep violet-blue, surrounding a small corolla of white petals with a bluish base. They continue to bloom until June if faded flowers are removed. Its slightly bluish-green foliage is quite decorative and the cut of the basal leaves gives an impression of lightness.

Planted alongside spring bulbs, the 'Cameo Blue & White' columbine will hide their withered and yellowing leaves at the end of spring. At the base of shrubs, it enhances their flowering or foliage. Compact and unassuming, columbines are essential in mixed borders, where they bring lightness. They can be planted in many areas of the garden, making sure to leave a space of 20 cm (8in) around each plant: in the middle of a perennial flower bed, in a border, at the base of shrubs, along the edge of a woodland, on a slope, in a moist and shaded rockery... They will be magnificent when planted in groups to create a dense tuft. Pick them when they have just opened for beautiful wildflower bouquets. In woodlands, in a 'romantic garden' spirit, 'Cameo Blue & White' can be paired with all kinds of perennials, such as small ferns, Foxgloves, Bleeding Hearts, Peach-leaved Bellflowers, or corydalis. Its modest size allows it to be grown in a pot, where it performs well.

Be careful to separate the columbines from each other, as wild hybridization can alter the varieties over time.