Columbine 'Nora Barlow'
Aquilegia vulgaris 'Nora Barlow' · Ranunculaceae
Fully double, spurless flowers like small pompoms, each a mix of rose-pink, lime green and white. Named after Charles Darwin's granddaughter, in whose garden it grew.
- Size
- 2½ ft tall, 18 in wide
- Zones
- 3 to 8
- Light
- Full sun to part shade
- Flowers
- Mid May to late June
- Pets
- Toxic (mild)
- Job in a bed
- Drift
A bed built around columbine 'Nora Barlow'
The planner designed this bed around columbine 'Nora Barlow' when this page was made: a 12 × 6 ft (3.7 × 1.8 m) cottage garden in zone 6, part sun. It chose the other plants from the 708 that suit those conditions, and says below why columbine 'Nora Barlow' stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Columbine 'Nora Barlow' × 5, pink
- 2 Leadwort × 5, blue
- 3 Blue moor grass × 8, purple
- 4 Garden phlox 'Jeana' × 3, pink
- 5 Globe arborvitae 'Danica' × 1, green leaves
- 6 Chives × 8, purple
- 7 Sicilian honey garlic × 6, cream
- 8 Meadow saffron × 7, white
Why this plant
- Nothing here is unique to it. Its leaf, flower shape and colour are all on the plan already. Its case rests on where it stands and when it performs.
Why here
- At the back. At 2½ ft it is seen over globe arborvitae 'Danica' (24 in) in front of it, and has nothing behind it to hide.
- A step in the back row. Next to Sicilian honey garlic (3½ ft): no two neighbours there are the same height, so the back steps up and down like a skyline.
- 5 plants in one group. Massed, one kind reads as a single shape. Scattered, it would look spotty.
Why now
- In flower for six weeks. From mid May to late June.
- Fills a gap. For one of those weeks nothing else on the plan is in flower.
Planned as a cottage garden: 30 of the 30 plants (100%), bulbs aside, stand alone or in groups of no more than five, small enough for the kinds to mingle. The flowering is at its height from mid May, with 3 kinds out together. In winter there are still blue moor grass and globe arborvitae 'Danica' to look at. The plan meets all 17 of the design principles it was checked against, and is Excellent in one category.
The planner's own design check: 10 Excellent, 7 Good.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where columbine 'Nora Barlow' goes in a border
At 2½ ft it belongs in the middle of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is medium (24 in to 2½ ft). It is airy enough to see through, so it can also come forward and veil what is behind it.
Its job: drift. Planted in a small group of three or five, and repeated further along in the other number.
A curiosity that earns its place: the flowers look like nothing else in May and last well in a vase. Unlike most columbines it comes largely true from seed.
- Cottage gardens
- Cutting
- A talking point at the front of a border
What to plant with columbine 'Nora Barlow'
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Lady's mantle: in flower together for four weeks, from late May; low enough (18 in) to stand in front of it.
- Peony: red against green, opposite each other on the colour wheel, if you choose those colours, in flower together for four weeks.
- Siberian iris: in flower together for four weeks, from late May.
Questions about columbine 'Nora Barlow'
Does columbine 'Nora Barlow' need sun or shade?
Columbine 'Nora Barlow' grows in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sun a day), part sun (4 to 6 hours of sun, including some afternoon sun) and part shade (2 to 4 hours of sun, mostly in the morning).
It wants ordinary well-drained soil, of average fertility, and a good soak in dry spells.
What zones does columbine 'Nora Barlow' grow in?
USDA zones 3 to 8. It is hardy to zone 3, which means it survives winter nights down to about −30 °F (−34 °C).
Above zone 8 it struggles: the zones measure winter cold, but a plant's top zone usually means the summers are too hot or the winters too mild for it to rest.
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
When does columbine 'Nora Barlow' flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers mid May to late June. As a spring flower it moves about a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer, later where it is colder.
| Zone 3 | Late May to late June |
|---|---|
| Zone 4 | Late May to late June |
| Zone 5 | Mid May to late June |
| Zone 6 | Early May to late June |
| Zone 7 | Early May to mid June |
| Zone 8 | Late April to mid June |
Worked out from Hopkins' bioclimatic law: spring arrives about four days later for each degree of latitude north, and one zone is roughly two degrees. A warm spring or a cold one moves any garden two weeks either way.
How far apart should columbine 'Nora Barlow' be planted?
14 in (35 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 18 in (45 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 2½ ft (75 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many columbine 'Nora Barlow' plants do I need?
At 14 in apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 9 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 9 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 28 to fill a 4 × 8 ft bed on its own
In a mixed border, plant it as a group of three or five, with a second group further along in the other number.
In the bed above, the planner used five in one group.
Is columbine 'Nora Barlow' poisonous to dogs and cats?
Yes: mild toxicity to people, dogs and cats. Seeds and roots can cause stomach upset if eaten, and the sap may irritate skin.
Is there a pet-safe plant like columbine 'Nora Barlow'?
These come closest to doing what columbine 'Nora Barlow' does, and no toxicity is recorded for them:
- Balloon flower: the same job in a bed and the same colour; 6 in shorter, flowers early July to mid August.
- Rose turtlehead: the same job in a bed, the same size and the same colour; flowers mid August to late September, wants moist soil.
- Coneflower 'White Swan': the same job in a bed and the same size; flowers early July to early September, white, not pink.
Matched the way the planner's Swap button matches plants: the same job in a bed, then size, then flowering time.
Will columbine 'Nora Barlow' spread?
It seeds itself about; the risk of it taking over is moderate. Self-seeds around the parent. Seedlings mostly resemble it.
What flowers after columbine 'Nora Barlow'?
Columbine 'Nora Barlow' is over by late June. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- Astilbe: from late June to mid July, 24 in tall.
- Black-eyed Susan: from mid July to mid September, 24 in tall.
- Butterfly weed: from late June to early August, 24 in tall.
What does columbine 'Nora Barlow' look like in winter?
Columbine 'Nora Barlow' dies down to the ground and there is nothing to see until spring. The old stems can be cut in autumn, or left until spring as shelter for overwintering insects.
More Aquilegia
- Columbine Aquilegia
- European columbine Aquilegia vulgaris
- Fan columbine Aquilegia flabellata
- Golden columbine Aquilegia chrysantha
- Rocky Mountain columbine Aquilegia caerulea
- Wild columbine Aquilegia canadensis
In these guides
Zone guides: Zone 3 · Zone 4 · Zone 5 · Zone 6 · Zone 7 · Zone 8
Every fact on record
- Type
- Perennial
- Size
- 2½ ft (75 cm) tall, 18 in (45 cm) wide
- Plant
- 14 in (35 cm) apart
- Height class
- Medium (24 in to 2½ ft)
- Place in the bed
- Middle, or further forward: it is airy enough to see through
- Flowers
- Mid May to late June; hanging bells; pink, green, white
- Leaves
- Medium texture, herbaceous; blue-green
- Shape
- Upright, self-seeding
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 3 to 8
- Light
- Full sun, part sun, part shade
- Soil
- Average, well-drained
- Water
- Moderate
- Feeding
- None needed
- Family
- Ranunculaceae
Checked against VASCAN (plants of Canada). Flowering times are for zone 5: later in colder zones, earlier in warmer ones. Toxicity and spread information is a general gardening guide, not veterinary or medical advice, and invasive status varies by region. If a person or pet eats a plant, contact poison control or a vet. Check your local invasive species list before planting anything with a spread warning.