AQUILEGIA. 



THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. 



AQUILEGIA. 



capricious ; take, for instance, the charm- 

 ing A. glandidosa., grown Hke a weed at 

 Forres, in Scotland, and so short-lived 

 in most gardens. Nor is this an excep- 

 tion ; it is characteristic of all the 

 mountain kinds. The best soil for them 

 is deep, well-drained, rich alluvial loam. 

 It is probable many of the species are 

 biennial, and that it is necessary to raise 

 them from seed frequently ; and to avoid 

 the results of crossing it is better to get 

 the seed, if we can, from the wild home 

 of the species. The seeds should be sown 

 early in spring, and the young plants 

 pricked out into pans or into an old garden 

 frame as soon as they are fit to handle, 

 removing them early in August to the 

 borders ; select a cloudy day for the work, 

 and give them a little shading for a few 

 days. 



A. alpina {Alpine Columbine). — A 

 beautiful high mountain plant i ft. to i ft. 

 high, with showy blue flowers, and there 

 is a lovely variety with a white centre 

 to the flower. In the rock-garden in a 

 rather moist and sheltered, but not shady, 

 spot in deep sandy loam or peat. Seed 

 or division. 



A. Bertoloni.— A pretty little alpine, 

 about I ft. high, with violet-blue flowers, 

 having short knobby spurs. 



A. californica(G?///6i;77zV/;/ Columbine). 

 — One of the finest of the American 

 species, with one bold woody stem, 3 ft. 

 high, and handsome, bright orange 

 flowers. The seeds should be carefully 

 looked after, as having once blossomed 

 the old plant may perish. This plant 

 thrives best on a deep sandy loam and 

 moist. 



A. canadensis {Canadian Columbine). 

 — The flowers are smaller than the 

 Western American kinds ; but this is 

 compensated for by the brilliancy of the 

 scarlet colour of the sepals and of the 

 erect spurs, and by the bright yellow of 

 the petals. The true plant is a slender 

 grower, i ft. in height. It is a plant for 

 borders, or placing here and there among 

 dwarf shrubs and plants in the rougher 

 parts of the rock-garden. 



A. chrysantha {Golden Columbine).— 

 This tall and beautiful species endures 

 as a perennial on many soils where the 

 other kinds perish, thriving even on the 

 stiff clay soils north of London, though it 

 is no less free in more happy situations. 

 It comes true from seed, which is most 

 safely raised under glass, and the plant 

 grows 4 ft. in height in good soil. 



A. coerulea {Rocky Mountain Colum- 

 bine). — This is very beautiful, the green- 

 tipped spurs of the flower being as slender 



as a thread, and having a tendency to 

 twist round each other. It is hardy, flower- 

 ing early in summer, from 12 in. to 15 in. 

 high, worthy of the best position on the 

 rock-garden, and in choice mixed borders, 

 where the soil is free and deep. Unlike 

 the Golden Columbine, it is not perennial 

 on many soils, though longer-lived in cool 

 hill-gardens. To get healthy plants that 

 will flower freely, seeds should be sown 

 annually. 



A. glandulosa { Altaian Columbine). — 

 A beautiful plant of tufted habit, flowering 

 in early summer — a fine blue, with tips of 

 petals creamy-white, the spur curved 

 backwards towards the stalk, the sepals 

 dark blue, large, with a long footstalk. 

 It is a native of the Altai Mountains, and 

 one of the most precious flowers for the 

 rock-garden, in deep sandy soil. Seed 

 and division. 



A. Skinneri {Skinner's Columbine). — 

 A distinct plant, the flowers produced 

 later on slender pedicles, the sepals 

 greenish, the petals small and yellow; the 

 spurs are 2 in. long and bright orange- 

 red. Though from Guatemala, it comes 

 from mountain districts and is nearly 

 hardy. While the name is often seen, 

 the true plant is rare. 



A, viridiflora. — A charming Siberian 

 Columbine, the sage-green of the flower 

 and the delicate tint of the leaf offering a 

 delicate harmony. In the border it may 

 not be noticed, but if a spray or two are 

 put in a glass its beauty is seen. It has a 

 delicate fragrance, and is raised from 

 seed. 



A. vulgaris {Commoti Columbine). — 

 There are many forms of this, and double 

 kinds, flowering from May till towards the 

 end of summer. One may often see a 

 variety of the common Columbine nearly 

 as handsome as any of the finest alpine 

 species. Its varieties, and some hybrid 

 forms, may well be used in the wilder and 

 more picturesque parts of large pleasure- 

 grounds, by streams, in copses, or among 

 Foxgloves, Geraniums, or long Grasses. 

 The ground should be well dug if the 

 vegetation is dense, and the seed sown on 

 the spot. Where bare places occur, and 

 seedlings have a chance of coming up 

 without being strangled by other plants, 

 seed may be scattered as soon as ripe. 



Known species. — A. advcna, Hab ? itlphia, Siberia; 

 Ainalue, Thessaly ; aragonensis, Spain; artascensis, 

 Europe ; Bertoloni, Europe ; Bratini, Europe ; breyi- 

 styla, N. America; BiicrgC7-iana, Japan; cali/ornica, 

 N.-W. America ; ca/iipylocciitra, Europe ; canadensis, 

 N. America; chrysantha, N. Mexico; ccenilea,yi.'^ . 

 America ; dichroa, Europe ; dioica, Europe ; discolor, 

 Spain ; Einseleana, Europe ; cxitnia, Europe ; 

 flahellata, Japan ; ftavcsccns, California ; formosa, 

 Kamtschatka; fragrans, Himalayas; Gaertneri, 



