Like deep purple and intense red jewels, the flowers of Columbine (Aquilegia vulgaris) are establishing themselves on the eastern grassy bank at the edge of the cricket pitch. They have been there for several years but this summer they are clearly in their element and the flowers are more numerous than ever. They are probably garden escapees – after all, there are similar perennial plants in the tidy cultivated patch by the cricket pavilion on the other side of the ground. However, the purple form of Columbine does occur as a wild flower in woods and on calcareous soils, although I have never seen them growing as natives myself. I am including them here because I like them so much and I like the splash of colour that they make as they glow in the sunshine against the green of the tall grasses..