The Beautiful Shade Flower That's Easy To Grow From Seed

Putting together a colorful, lush garden can be challenging, especially if you're working in a shady space, since not all plants prefer low-light conditions. And even worse, some of these shade-lovers can be surprisingly fussy to establish. Fortunately, not every beautiful flower requires a complicated starting process. Some, like gorgeous columbines, are a snap even for beginner gardeners to grow, making them a simple choice for adding colorful spring blooms to areas of your landscape that don't get much sun.

Native to North America and Europe, depending on the specific species, columbines (Aquilegia spp.) are great additions to shady to part-shade sections of your yard. This gorgeous genus of plants flowers in spring and boasts uniquely shaped blooms in shades of red, blue, purple, white, and yellow. It's not just the vibrant hues you get to admire with these blossoms, though. They attract hummingbirds and other pollinators to your shade garden, too. 

Growing around 1 to 3 feet tall, depending on the cultivar, they fit nicely into the middle of shady borders and beds. They're largely deer- and rabbit-resistant, so you won't have to worry about seeing these beauties get nibbled away by hungry herbivores. And growing them yourself can be as easy as simply scattering some seeds in your garden.

Generally hardy in zones 3 through 9, these beauties love full to part shade and moist but well-draining soil. For the easiest route, direct-sow the columbine seeds in the desired location in autumn. The seeds need light to sprout, so be sure you don't plant them too deeply. A light sprinkling over the soil surface is often enough. They germinate best with cool and moist stratification, so letting them go through a winter outdoors is ideal. If you really want to get things started indoors, make sure to put the seeds in your fridge for a few weeks before planting. Just be aware that young columbines can be difficult to transplant. In other words, there's usually little reason to complicate things by starting them inside when direct sowing works so well.

Once they're established, your columbines should be relatively easy to care for. Just don't be too disappointed if you don't get flowers your first year. They should have plenty for you in year two. These plants often don't live longer than five years, but don't worry, they reseed well, so you should have plenty of blooms to enjoy for the future. Leaving a few spent blooms in place allows them to drop seed naturally and can help keep new plants coming. If you find yourself dealing with more columbines than you can handle, just start deadheading them before they can produce seeds.