Plant of the week -
Common Name: double columbine, granny’s bonnet
Botanical Name: aquilegia vulgaris ‘black barlow’
Black Barlow has charming deep purple, almost black, double flowers without the classic spurs. Looking like a miniature dahlia, it’s easy to grow, quick to spread and makes the perfect cut flower. The flowers are held well above a neat, fern like grass green foliage.
Aquilegia comes from the Latin word for eagle which refers to the flower’s five spurs that resemble an eagle’s talon. Its lightly fragrant flowers, on slender erect stems, contrast nicely with its blue-green foliage. The common name, columbine, means dove-like, and the flower was often depicted in medieval paintings to represent the dove of peace. Sweetly familiar harbingers of spring, these little woodland perennials are enchanting when allowed to naturalize in a shady border.
Description – perennial
Hardiness Zone – 3-8
Exposure – full sun/partial shade
Mature Height – 30″
Bloom Time – early summer
Bloom Colour – deep purple
Scent – slight fragrance
