The Aquilegia

The aquilegia (columbine) has gently dominated this Glasgow garden over the past few weeks. It's a flower, like wisteria or clematis montana, that feels emblematic of the transition from spring to summer. The plants will self-seed prolifically and unpredictably, although here pulling out many of the grubby pinks they tend to revert to has left behind a richer, deeper range of colours. In my experience aquilegias nearly always sport a choker of aphids but this doesn't seem to do them much harm. The sole named variety pictured is 'Black Barlow' (2nd from last), almost like a shrunken dahlia; it produced the dreamy single-flowered offspring immediately below, unlike any I'd seen before.