05/13/2026
For this week's , we're taking a look at one of our favorite spring flowers - Eastern Red Columbine, or Aquilegia canadensis
This stunning native plant blooms from late April to early June in our area, and is putting on an absolute show right now!
We love Columbine for a number of reasons:
-It is a perennial that will happily spread itself. Not only will it return every year, but it will drop new seeds every summer to make plenty of new baby columbines! Plant it once and in just a few years you'll be rewarded with a whole patch of beauties to share with your friends ❤️
-So easy to grow! Columbine can thrive even in the most neglected corners of your garden. It doesn't need full sun, it'll do great in almost any sun conditions. Additionally, they are really tough in bad soil. You can put them in your rockiest, thinnest soil spots and they'll have no problems. In Philly gardens we're often searching for plants that don't mind shade, and columbines are a great choice for that purpose.
-This is a *classic* hummingbird plant. Hummingbirds tend to be most attracted to red flowers (we have the same taste!), and the long red tubes of the columbine contain nectar that can only be reached by long-tongued critters like hummingbirds, bees, moths, and butterflies.
Fun fact: speaking of birds, the scientific name "Aquilegia" comes from the Latin word for "eagle" (aquila), and refers to the talon-shaped flower spurs.
Swipe through to see the evolution of columbines through the spring, from the cute rosette leaves in the late winter, to the blossoms, seed, and in-between
