Pure white flowers are a premium in the garden. Long-flowering, easy to grow perennials are especially beloved by me, as are greyhounds btw. White columbine (I believe the version photographed here is ‘Dove’) flowers from April into June, depending on your location.
Columbine deserves inclusion in almost every shade garden.
I’ve already written about American, golden, yellow, and European columbines.
What’s true about the genus is true about white columbine…the ideal spot is sunny in the morning with some shade in the heat of the afternoon. It’s a flower of springtime and by summer columbine will have receded into the background.
White columbine will reseed in the garden but is not invasive.
Columbine tends to give the illusion of being long-lived. What is actually happening is prolific seeding allows the columbine to live on in your garden season to season. Happily, columbine is not at all aggressive in my experience. It is not aggressive visually either, a plant best appreciated during a slow walk in or by the garden. White columbine won’t wow from 100 feet away.
One could I suppose use it as a litmus test in gauging friends’ sensitivity to the truly special unsung heroes of the garden.
As I’ve written before regarding columbine, it should be planted informally. This is a woodland plant and should be encouraged to show up in unexpected places in the garden. The goal is to have it seem like columbine has been with us forever.