AQUILEGIAS.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XLII, Issue 20, 19 May 1909, Page 39

AQUILEGIAS.

1 here are few flowers more decorative or refining in their effect on our herbaceous borders than the comparatively neglected aquilegias. Their period of flowering is not quite so prolonged as that of the viola, yet in many instances. as in that of A. Chrysantha. the "Golden Columbine." it has lasted in flower in my garden for nearly three months. The aquilegias have come to us from various regions; from the Altai Mountains in Liberia, from the Alps and the Pyrenees, from Guatemala in South America, from Canada, from California. and from the Rocky Mountains. One of the finest of the aquilegias, and most graceful in habit, is A. C< erub a hybrids, "divinely tall, and most divinely fair.” The original colours of this beautiful Columbine were blue and white, but when crossed with A. Chrysantha, it became suffused with yellow and invested with spurs of greater orange-red. It is a native of the northis a remarkable combination of deep orange and bright scarlet; though, in virtue of its peculiarly pendulous tendency. in which respect it resembles sev eral notable roses, its beauty is half concealed. Aquilegia Canadensis, whose colours somewhat resemble those of A.

Californica, is extremely effective in certain situations; so also is the uniquelycoloured A. Skinneri. which has delicate green sepals and yellow petals, with strongly contrasting spurs of brightest orange-red. It is a ntive of the norththat Aquilegias Stuartii could not be gia Glandulosa. whose colours are white and blue, is a species which is easily increased by careful division of the fibrous root-stock. It is of closely-tuft-ed habit, and does not grow to anv great height, forming in this respect a contrast to such commanding forms as A. Californica and A. Coerulea Hybrida. which, when in flower, can lie seen and admired from any part of the garden. A derivative from this variety called A. Wittmaniana. though possessing considerable fascination, is not equal in beauty or graceful formation to the parent flower. The late Dr. Stuart. of Chirnside. in Berwickshire, the distinguished originator of the "Violetta” race of riyless miniature violas, raised the grandest of all aquilegias, which bears his name. He used to assure me that aquilegias Stuartii could not be grown successfully except by earnest cultivators. since it requires very careful attention in its earlier stages, and a deep, fertile soil. I have been informed by Messrs. Coeker. of Aberdeen, who introduced the variety to commerce, that it was the result of a cross between A. Coerulea and A. Glandulosa. though others have attributed part of its origin to A. Wittmaniana. After cultivating aquilegias for many years with even more pleasure and success than I anticipated. I have come to the conclusion that, whether we consider the length of time during which it blooms with such splendid profusion, its utter indifference to atmospheric conditions, its strikingly beautiful formation, or its lustrous golden hue, A. Chrysantha. if not so varied or highly artistic in its aspect as A. Californica or A. Goerulea Hybrida. is the most valuable, and assuredly the most enduring, of them all (writes a Scottish enthusiast). Nothing in my garden is more impressive in early summer than long lines of A. Chrysantha. with innumerable flowers of the brightest primrose hue, glittering beneath the blossoms of overshadowing apple trees. Though less refulgent than the Eastern lily, the carnation, or the rose, the aquilegia has a dainty beauty of its own. and is, as this contribution. I hope, sufficiently proves, of much value for garden decoration