A Good decision to let it grow

I was excited to see the purple and white double bell shaped columbine blooming in the garden.  I may be naïve, but I haven’t seen this type of columbine in this color or shade before.  We have a white bell shape in our garden and I’ve seen it come in pink too.   We also have purple and white shades with a single layer of petals.  I guess open pollination serves nature well.

Last year, when it was just a little seedling, I nearly pulled it out.  We have a lot of Columbine in the garden and most of them are self-sown.  When I go to the farmer’s market or nursery or browse the catalogs I’m only looking for something new to add to our garden.  I’ve learned that buying one plant is enough since I know how to propagate.  The ones that self-sow have been sowing themselves too well.  I’ve had to pull some of them out.  But, in some cases, letting the unknown seedlings grow produces a marvelous result.

A few reasons for letting the Columbine live, though it grows right next to a rose, are that they aren’t exactly invasive, they are pretty and the butterflies and Hummingbirds love them.  What can go wrong?  They self-sow but don’t spread like plants in the mint family.  I can’t get rid of the mint, Lemon Balm and Bee balm at this point, try as I might.  Columbine, on the other hand, is easy to get rid of or transplant if I don’t like the color.  And, it’s an indication of the hummingbirds arrival.  The hummingbirds will be here when the columbine blooms.

Letting this particular one grows was a good decision.  Now, as far as I know, we have a new plant that can’t be bought.