• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Home Garden Joy
  • Home
  • How to Garden
    • Seed Starting
    • Plant Profiles
    • Tools & Equipment
    • Raised Bed Gardening
  • Vegetables
  • Fruit
  • Herbs
  • About
    • Books & Classes
      • Herbalism Classes
      • Books for Christian Herbalists
      • Privacy Policy

Columbine Flower

May 14, 2015 by Jeanne

COLUMBINE COLLAGEColumbine flower is one of the loveliest of spring’s flowers here in my Virginia garden. The hardest part about growing columbine is not mistaking the emerging spring foliage for weeds!

I started my columbine flower collection from seeds, and added only one mature plant, the yellow-flowered variety you see in the pictures here, from a potted plant a few years ago. I can’t quite remember if it was a gift from my friend Helen, who has a gorgeous garden just a few miles away, or a plant I purchased from the garden center. The other plant seem to seed freely throughout my garden, their offspring happily adding to the joyful cacophony of color in the spring garden, but the yellow stubbornly plods along, turning her sunny face to the southern sky from the butterfly garden.

Columbine thrives throughout the United States and is the Colorado state flower. It prefers sun to partial shade. Columbine grows well in almost any soil type, but does prefer a bit of moisture. I’m growing it in my back garden next to the deck, and it loves the area near the hose coupling where of course the hose leaks just a tiny bit! That sure keeps the soil evenly moist, even through our hot Virginia summers.

Sow columbine seeds directly into the garden, or add plants in early spring. Most varieties flower in mid-May, with some continuing into June. Dead-heading, or removing spent blossoms, may extend the flowering season a bit. I like to mulch around my columbine plants to keep the soil evenly moist, but it’s not necessary if you live in an area that gets plenty of rainfall.

I’ve found that it’s best to move columbine plants early in the spring. If you do dig up some of the volunteer seedlings to transplant them into other areas of your garden, be especially judicious in your watering schedule after moving the plants so that they root easily in their new home.

Here are more pictures from my garden today to show you the beauty of columbine flowers.

columbine2

columbine3

columbine4

columbine1

 

Filed Under: Growing Flowers

Previous Post: « Planting a Three Sisters Garden
Next Post: Foodie Friday: Roasted Cauliflower Recipes »

Primary Sidebar

Let’s Connect!

  • Facebook
  • Instagram

As Seen in Porch

 As Seen in Porch

We were featured in Porch.com and answered reader's questions about indoor plants.

Explore All Gardening Articles

a zucchini growing in a raised bed

Growing Zucchini in Raised Beds

kale growing in a raised bed

Replenishing Raised Bed Garden Soil

raised bed garden

How to Build a Vegetable Garden Using Raised Beds

a watering can next to a seed tray on a sidewalk

What Veggies Can I Plant Now?

Herbalism Classes & Supplies

Goods Shop by Herbal Academy – botanically inspired products

Disclosure

Home Garden Joy participates in two affiliate programs: Amazon and The Herbal Academy. Home Garden Joy earns a commission from qualifying purchases as an Amazon Associate. As an Herbal Academy Associate, HGJ also earns a commission when you sign up for classes or purchase herbs or supplies from The Herbal Academy. Herbal information and recipes on this site are provided for educational purposes only.

Footer

butternut squash growing in a raised garden bed

How to Grow Butternut Squash Organically

Learning how to grow butternut squash organically ensures you know how to grow this tasty, nutritious vegetable in your home garden. I’ll share with you some basic information on growing butternut squash, followed by some organic gardening tips that have been helpful for me here at Seven Oaks Farm in dealing with the various pests…

Read More

herbs in a pink dish

How to Make the Perfect Cup of Herbal Tea

Make the perfect cup of herbal tea, right from your own garden! In May, I gave two free talks on how to grow, harvest, dry, and create your very own herbal teas. This lecture proved so popular that I recorded the narration and uploaded it to YouTube. You can view it below: Supplies to Make…

Read More

tent caterpillars on a pear tree

How to Get Rid of Tent Caterpillars

I spent last Saturday morning getting rid of Eastern tent caterpillars from the apple and pear trees in the orchard here on the farm. Malacosoma americanum, the Eastern tent caterpillar, is a regular visitor each spring. We first spot the shimmery webs on a clear spring day. The small ‘tents’ built by the caterpillars quickly…

Read More

kale growing in a raised bed

Replenishing Raised Bed Garden Soil

Raised bed vegetable garden soil soil needs to be replenished periodically. If you’ve done your job right and selected great soil, and amended it with nice compost, you’re going to have super garden soil for the first few years. Because you don’t walk on a raised bed garden the way that you do with typical…

Read More

  • Privacy Policy
  • About
  • Awards

Copyright © 2025 Home Garden Joy on the Foodie Pro Theme