Aquilegia spp. in bloom!

For the last week or so, columbines have been blooming all over the neighbourhood. My favourite, of course, is our native wild red columbine, Aquilegia canadensis. This is in a neighbour's garden; unfortunately I somehow managed to kill mine.

This huge beautiful plant was inherited from the previous owners. It didn't bloom last year, and I don't remember it doing much before that, so I was surprised to see how huge it is this year, and smothered with flowers! I think it is A. vulgaris 'Tower Dark Blue'. (A. vulgaris is native to Europe.)

Here's a closer look at one of the purple flowers.

I discovered this very pretty pale pink variety when I was exploring the neighbourhood.

The columbines are considered short-lived perennials, but they will at least in theory self seed. Columbines are considered fairly easy to grow so I'm not sure how I managed to kill mine. I guess I'd better not invest in any of the really delicate plants, like the Cypripediums (lady slippers) until I figure out what I'm doing wrong.