Columbine and iris in the backyard garden island

I'm very familiar with the native columbine, Aquilegia canadensis, because it grew freely on the rocky bluff near the lake at my former home. The red and yellow flowers with their down facing habit are pretty and bright, like little fairy lanterns.

This one is growing in my backyard in a space I call the island garden. It's the same garden that last fall was filled with fading purple coneflowers; the same flower heads that I left standing all winter to feed the American goldfinches and other birds. I have a view of this garden from my kitchen window.

In the background of this photo you get a little glimpse of the other columbines in the garden. See the tall purple flowers?

There are nearly as many of the purple columbines in my garden as there are the natives. The purple form is much taller and the flowers are larger. Here's a closeup of a particularly blue one with very long petals. It's a small plant that is nearly overrun by the rapidly sprouting purple coneflowers. But others with flowers like this that appear a little more pink are also much taller. I found this little blue one particularly nice.

Another color I've found in this garden is this one: burgundy. I have never planted a columbine. As I said earlier, my last garden had the native form growing everywhere. But, from my browsing of perennial catalogues, I don't remember seeing many of this burgundy color. There is only one like this in my garden as far as I can tell. Very pretty.

One other columbine in this garden is purple with a white center. I didn't get a good photo of that one, but it's similar to ones I've seen in catalogue and garden centers.

The garden is also home to this iris. It's unusual with its white spot surrounded by purple. It is also very tall; over 3 feet.

With the exception of the red and yellow columbines everything in this garden that's blooming right now is purple, even a sage that's blooming ahead of it's companions. I'm guessing it was planned that way.

I'm enjoying the garden Bob and Judy created. I watch it daily from my kitchen vantage point. it often draws me outside to get a closer look, which leads to a stroll around the vegetable garden. And then I'm hooked for as long as the demands of life will allow.

I'll get busy soon moving many of the coneflowers to a different space - maybe to different gardens. There are plenty to share. That should allow the columbines some room to grow. But I wonder if they like the shade of those larger plants. I'll be careful and watch for signs of distress.

I remember thinking last fall that there were columbines growing like weeds under all the coneflowers as I hurriedly planted some of the herbs I brought with me from my former home into the edges of this garden. It didn't bother me at all if I stepped on a columbine. I thought they were all the native plants that I knew were easy to grow. They all seem to have survived my trampling. But, still, I'll be more careful now. :-)