Aquilegia Nora Barlow

Named after Emma Nora Barlow, Charles Darwin’s granddaughter, who grew this remarkable variety in her Cambridgeshire garden — and one of the most beloved cottage garden perennials available from seed. Nora Barlow produces fully double, spurless pom-pom blooms in the most enchanting colour combination: raspberry-pink petals delicately tipped with white and soft green, ageing through pale pink to nearly pure white as the season progresses.

Graceful branched stems carry the flowers upward-facing from May to June, cutting beautifully for the vase and self-seeding with quiet generosity through the border.

• Aquilegia vulgaris var. stellata 'Nora Barlow' — Hardy Perennial
• Height: 60–90cm | Flowers: May–June
• Partial shade to full sun; humus-rich, well-drained soil
• Self-seeds freely — naturalises beautifully over time
• Excellent for cutting

A true icon of the English cottage garden. Once you grow it, you will always grow it.