THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 353 



HARDY COLUMBINES. 



{With Coloured Plate of Aquilegia glandulosa.) 



HIS magnificent herbaceous plant represents a group of 

 half-forgotten garden worthies, that we may search far 

 and wide for in the flower gardens of the present day, 

 "We were reminded of its existence during the past 

 summer by receiving from Messrs. G rigor and Co., of 

 the Nurseries, Forres, a glorious bunch of its flowers, from whicb a 

 drawing was made for the plate which accompanies this notice. 

 This plant is one of the hardiest of the tine family to which it 

 belongs, requiring nothing more than good border culture, with 

 plenty of room and full exposure to the sunshine. As we are always 

 anxious to direct attention to hardy plants of high decorative value, 

 it is needful in this notice to remark that there are several species of 

 Aquilegia in cultivation, that, for ordinary purposes of garden 

 decoration, are really worthless, and of course are not to be re- 

 commended, although they have a place in trade catalogues. But 

 having rejected the least desirable, there remain several that are 

 indispensable to the completeness of the herbaceous border, and 

 indeed are well adapted for large beds and clumps in conspicuous 

 positions, owing to their noble characters and showy colours when in 

 flower. The most beautiful columbiue perhaps is the rare and 

 delicate A. ccerulea, which grows about two feet high, and produces 

 a large number of its curiously formed and most elegantly coloured 

 flowers of pale violet blue passing into white. The species here 

 figured, A. glandulosa, is the most showy, the plant rising about 

 two feet high, with handsome ample leafage, and a profusion of 

 dashing blue and white flowers. The variety grown by Messrs. 

 Grrigor has a delicate shade of violet, which renders the flower 

 extremely pleasing when examined closely, though when seen at a 

 distauce the violet is not apparent, and a good head of flowers has 

 somewhat the appearance of a cloud of blue and white butterflies. 

 The commonest of the columbines is A. vulgaris, a British plant, 

 and a favourite of the cottage garden. This, however, in its com- 

 monest form, is not good enough for the select herbaceous border 

 although it must be confessed that, in its worst state, it is an ex- 

 ceedingly pretty plant. The double-flowering varieties, however 

 are truly fine, and a bed of them would be no bad ornament to a 

 garden, especially if asters were planted amongst the columbines to 

 afford flowers when the columbines were over. The last \i\ the 

 select list of border columbines is A. Skinneri, a good clump of 

 which has a showy appearance, the flowers being produced in plenty 

 in good shades of red and orange. For the rockery, A. alpina is a 

 rare gem, growing only a foot high, and producing a number of fine 

 purplish blue flowers. 



It may not be wrong to enumerate those we consider unworthy 

 of a place in a first-class border. They are A. bicolor, A. caryophi/l- 

 loides, A. canadense, A. fragrans, A. Siberica, the single-flowerin^ 



VOL. VI. — MO. XII. 23 



