Colombine!

 

I first fell in love with Columbine flowers at (you guessed it) Disneyland, having seen them in one of the Tomorrowland gardens. I found a few more around the neighborhood and admired their graceful stalks and ballet-dress beauty.

It was too late, however, to find any plants, so I had to buy seeds, which I planted with some trepidation--I'm not that good at keeping seeds alive and nurturing them through that awkward, delicate seedling phase when too much water drowns them and too little withers them, and the difference between the two stages is a few drops.

To my delight, however, a number of the plants survived my care; no more than a small percentage, but enough. I planted them all around the garden--instructions on Columbine care vary, some saying "Full sun" and some "shade," so I mixed them.

Some died in the torrential downpour we had over the winter, but some lived, and now several are blooming! Or, rather, promising to bloom. The only open one is an unpromising mix of sickly green and pale red, but I have hopes that it will darken into something more impressive.

In the meantime, three others hold tightly furled buds, mysteries waiting to unfold.