Columbine

I guess the columbine likes its little spot- we got our first open bloom today. It's a spectacular flower. I remember the first time I had ever seen these- Doug and I were hiking in Zion's canyon with a few friends, on the Hidden Canyon trail. It is a good hike up, hugs the red rock walls and is the last place you'd expect to find exotic looking flowers. But there is where we saw our first columbine- quite a few of them, actually. I couldn't stop looking at them and wishing I had a camera (I know, how can you hike around in a NP without a camera!?).

Now we have them on our balcony and we can look at them whenever we want. I made sure when planting to put it in a well-drained soil that I mixed with a potting mix (peat and perilite), but mixed in half and half (nearly) of straight perilite into it. It has SW exposure. Hopefully it continues to love it there, we love having it. =)