Aquilegia

They're really pretty! We had a variety of colours that my mum planted. They went wild years ago and all I get now are basic pinky-mauve ones. They're still pretty, though, but not as nice as the ones you have.

I have pink and purple Aquilegia.....I have the common ones....they do spread. I have another spreader which looks like cosmos, but it isn't.

Oh yes ! One of my very favourite flowers.
Granny's Bonnets was the name used by my Granny and my mum - makes sense when you look at the flower closely. I also remember my mother pulling them out aggressively and chucking them onto the composting pile, calling them weeds!!! Obviously because they keep repeating happily year on year - Mother didn't make the connection between adding the "weeds" to the compost heap and finding another sprouting all over the place the following year!!!!! We live and learn. I pay good money for the many different varieties nowadays and am happy to do so.

Farmor , they are beautiful. I have a few, self seeded in our garden, but none as lovely as yours.

I have loads of these - including the blue one in your first picture - it is lovely! They have self-seeded everywhere, even in the gravel! - I have a section of gravel where I have allowed them to run free and it looks splendid!

I have lots of them too, the bees love them which is great ?

Jo Marie, is that what they're called?..the ones that look like cosmos? Granny's bonnets ? Lovely name.

I love them too but then I love any flowers that are prolific and sow themselves I love surprises

Always been my favourite flower, love them all, but my favourite are the tall purple ones

Yes we have inherited lots. All different colours. Though I noticed yesterday they had greenery. Are they prone to this?

We had common ones and some special ones too, but this year, for the first time ever, not one has come up.

They come up every year now, their nodding heads are a delight mixed amongst the other plants in the borders.

We've always called them Granny's Bonnets too, I had a lot self seed (purple's/pinks) in the garden but the last couple of years only the purple one has been seen. Now the plants have started to disappear. Never managed to keep the more colourful ones I planted at times.
You are lucky to have such a pretty selection Farmor.

A few years ago a strain of mildew appeared which wiped out many Aquilegias, including mine and the National Collection. I’m wondering if I dare introduce them back in my garden. They are so pretty.

Mine are all wishy washy pink now. Should I throw new seeds around or buy plants?

I usually have quite a show of them, and they reached nuiscance proportions at one time, but, like Lemongrove they are conspicuous by their absence this year. I have just one plant flowering. On a piece of waste land near here, they flower prolifically in all forms and colours from seeds I presume the birds have dropped. I do grow a dwarf aquilegia on my rockery which is a joy. This was two years ago and it has spread since then.

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loopyloo - I'd suggest you buy seeds. If you plant them now, and get them established this year, they'll flower next year. It takes a couple of years before the plants are big enough to give a good show, but after that they just keep going. I have a big, semi-wild garden and put them in a few different places. I thought that the "wild type" purple ones would take over, but they haven't.

I hope that mildew doesn't come here - I'm in Ireland - I'd be sorry to lose them. Here are a few more pictures including some "ordinary" ones.

I do like them but the only ones that seem to survive in our garden are the "common or garden" pink ones.
I have planted purple and yellow aquilegia but all have disappeared. The pink ones seem to survive and spread everywhere.

Yes, we had a lovely group of purple and yellow ones ( Nora Barlow?) but nothing came up this year and no pink or purple either.The mildew thing explains it, glad it isn’t just ours, maybe better to wait another year?

Hadn't heard about the mildew either. Wouldn't we have noticed it? I've lost some too but thought I'd annoyed them by poking about and that maybe they didn't like last year's hot summer so seeds didn't germinate. I like the pinky ones best and love the greeny clumps of leaves.

Apparently they like well drained soil, so maybe if they’re in a damp spot the roots rot in the winter and that may be why they don’t come up again. Mine are doing well near (but not shaded by) trees and the ground is fairly dry. They seed themselves in all kinds of unlikely spots - edge of patio, cracks in concrete.

They're gorgeous Farmor, mine aren't half as good and haven't spread very much. The violets, on the other hand...

Green fly

Absolutely love them and love how they mix and are reborn in different colours over the years. Got all sorts- some double bonnets, some wild alpine ones (almost black)... and got seeds for double whites I've just planted hoping they will flower next year. Our house is a very old Vicarage in the mountains, and they are perfect for our 'Curate's garden'