Sowing 'granny's bonnets'

Aquilegias give effortless interest and beauty

- Ruth Hayes

THE miracle of aquilegias is one of the many reasons why gardening is so fascinating.

These hardy perennials are easy to grow and keen to set seeds, but the brilliant thing about them is they mutate, so you never know what flowers you will get each year.

This year we have had flouncy pink ‘granny’s bonnets’ as well as a stunning dark purple variety with white edging to the petals. Both plants were sown by nature, and I can’t wait to see what they bring us in 2024.

This week’s seeds are for a variety called ‘Biedermeier Mixed’, which produces bonnet-shaped blooms in pastel pinks and blues, as well as white.

They appreciate sun or light shade and free-draining soil, suit borders and containers and are good for pollinators.

I have sown mine in peat-free Dalefoot wool seed compost, which I broke up as I added it to the growing modules. When the seedlings are ready I will pot them into individual pots and add them to the garden either in late autumn or next spring.

Step by step

Sow aquilegias in modules