Crazy Love ~ Columbines

"This here's a spectacle might warrant your attention." [sic]

So said my cowboy neighbor from Almosta Ranch.
I finally have more Columbines than he has horses.

It all started innocently enough when I made the "98% excited, 2% scared, or was that the other way around?" life-changing move to Utah.

Big raise! Bigger promotion! New, fun challenges! Lots of new faces!

Fifteen minutes into my first day on the job, I discovered I hated that joint more than words could describe. Suffice to say this was a sadly depressing realization.


But, I toughed it out for 2.5 years. During that time, I learned what prejudice was all about. You don't have to be black or brown or poor or whatever. You just have to be different. Because then you are a threat. I was a non-Mormon in a Mormon company.

About the only thing that made me smile during the course of the day, was pulling into my driveway at the end of it.

That cottage garden was peppered with happy little Columbines.

Now that I'm a homeowner, I don't have to worry about getting my damage deposit back.

So, my passion for Columbines is borderline OCD.

They peek out of every semi-shady spot in the yard.
They'll put up with full sun if I force them to:

They are feisty enough to go head to head with domineering catmint (below.)

They create new color combinations on a whim. And, they move around to various parts of your garden, when they get bored with their old digs.

* When we hear the word 'spur,' we invariably think of cowboys and those jangling metal boot contraptions. Spur is also part of the architecture of the columbine flower, that portion of the flower that curls outward and produces nectar inside the spur.

** Columbines (Aquilegia) are highly adaptable perennials that bloom in a bazillion different color combinations. USDA zones 3-9. Boatloads of flowers in May/June - will flower sporadically throughout the rest of the summer with deadheading. They prefer light shade. Will tolerate full sun with regular watering.