Wednesday, June 7, 2006
Wild Columbine (Aquilegia canadensis)
As a kids, we called this flower "honeysuckle".
It seems to me we used to bite the tips off and suck out some sort of sweet liquid. . . or maybe we just thought there was a sweet nectar because of the name.
I wouldn't suck on them today as I believe I read they are poisonous.
I found a couple growing in my garden yesterday. I usually pull them out when I see them because to me wild flowers should be in the wild, not in my garden.
But I must admit, they have a quiet beauty. The one growing with the dame's rocket/phlox is very tall (I've never seen one so tall), while the one below is quite short and just peeking out of the daylilly foliage. I think I will let these two live on.
Honeysuckle is viney and white (we have it here and it smells so sweet). We use to pull off the back and pull the stamen out that way where there would be a drop of nectar.
ReplyDeleteThe first time I saw wild Columbine was last summer when I was walking in a trail and came upon these pretty flowers. I picked one and couldn't wait to get back home to look in my flower book to find out what kind of flower it was!! I think they're pretty enough to leave in a garden:-)
ReplyDeleteColumbine is actually edible. I have a friend that spent a year at a being-one-with-nature school where they lived in and off the woods eating stuff like this. When she comes to my house she is always grazing on my "weeds". She likes the columbine flowers so I have to remind her not to eat those since I am growing them for the flowers - to look at.
ReplyDeleteI have plenty of the wild columbine, and some tame too. I think it's very delicate and pretty but I pull it out when it begins to take over (the wild that is). It looks pretty with the rocket.
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