Aquilegia flabellata Ministar

The Aquilegia flabellata 'Ministar' is a small-sized columbine with a truly bright bicolour flowering. On its beautiful dense foliage cushions, bright blue flowers with a white calyx bloom for several weeks in spring. Against the nicely cut grey-green foliage, typical of columbines, this colour appears almost luminescent. It is a very pretty perennial that will enhance slightly cool and semi-shaded areas of the garden, planted in a small rockery or at the edge of a flower bed. It will also look superb in a planter on the terrace or balcony.

Columbines are beautiful essential perennials; the lightness of the foliage and the original shape of the flowers have long seduced many gardeners. They are perfect for brightening up slightly shaded areas in flower beds. The different shapes, sizes, and colours allow for unique combinations with other perennials. They belong to the Ranunculaceae family.

Aquilegia flabellata, also known as dwarf columbine, is a botanical species native to the mountainous regions of Japan and Korea. It is a perennial herbaceous plant, with vegetation that more or less persists in winter. The variety 'Ministar', a beautiful improvement on this wild columbine, was distinguished by the Award of Garden Of Merit 1993 awarded by the prestigious Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) in England.

This columbine forms a small, dense tuft of light foliage, 15 cm high and 30 cm wide from which from the end of April branched floral stems emerge upwards, reaching about 25 cm in height. Each 4 cm wide flower, slightly leaning towards the ground, is composed of sepals with horned spurs of an almost electric blue surrounding a small corolla of white petals with a bluish base. They renew themselves until June if faded flowers are removed. Its slightly bluish green foliage is quite decorative; the cutting of the basal leaves gives an impression of lightness.

Planted alongside spring bulbs, the Ministar columbine will hide the dried and yellowing leaves at the end of spring. At the base of shrubs, it enhances their flowering or foliage. Compact and discreet, columbines are essential in mixed borders, where they bring lightness and whimsy. They can be planted in many places in the garden, taking care to leave a 20 cm space around each plant: in the middle of a perennial bed, in a border, at the base of shrubs, on the edge of a woodland, on a slope, in a cool and shaded rockery... They will look beautiful planted in groups to form a dense clump. Don't hesitate to pick them when barely open for beautiful country bouquets. In woodlands, in a 'romantic garden' spirit, Ministar can be associated with all kinds of perennials, such as small ferns, foxgloves, bleeding hearts, or corydalis. Its modest size allows it to be grown in a pot, where it performs very well.

Be careful to separate the columbines from each other, wild hybridization can distort the varieties over time.