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In late spring this pretty wild columbine produces eyecatching nodding coral-red and yellow flowers with showy 'spurs' that hang from slender stems. Its vivid green graceful fern-like lacy leaves are a feature in themselves as they catch the breeze and seem to hover above the ground. This short-lived perennial is one of the easiest columbines to grow and will self-seed freely. Much tougher than it looks, it is native to North America and Canada where it grows on rocky outcrops and woodland. It looks best left to multiply in a natural setting such as woods or meadows where it can cope with dry conditions and rocky soil. Pollinating insects love it too!

• Garden care: Cut down faded flowers to the base in autumn. This is a short-lived perennial that will only live for about 3-4 years so it should be planted in a place where it be can allowed to set seed. You can dig up your new seedlings in autumn and replant them where you want or just collect the seeds and scatter them in bare patches in the border. Contact with the sap may cause skin irritation. This aquilegia does not like wet heavy soil.