Columbines in the gardens...

By the end of May, the Denver Botanic Garden is finally in full bloom. Everywhere you look there are bright colors, fresh foliage, and flowers competing for attention. It feels as if the entire garden suddenly woke up and decided to put on a show.

 

And yet, despite all the different flowers blooming around me, one kept stealing my attention over and over again - columbines.

We always have plenty of columbines in the garden. They are one of those flowers that return every year and never disappoint. But this year feels different. I honestly don't remember the last time I saw so many of them. 

Blue and yellow, red and white, pale and vibrant - columbines seem to be everywhere. Around every bend in the path, tucked between other flowers, growing beside ponds, and filling entire beds with color.

Columbines are also one of those flowers that are impossible to ignore. Their shape is so intricate and unusual that I always find myself stopping for a closer look. Even after seeing hundreds of them over the years, I still turn my head whenever I spot one.

That Saturday, I decided to do something a little different. Instead of bringing my trusted macro lens, I left it at home. It felt strange at first. The macro lens is usually my first choice when flowers are involved, and I know exactly what to expect from it. This time I wanted to experiment a bit and look at the garden from a different perspective.

I'm still not entirely sure how successful the experiment was. Some photographs turned out the way I hoped, while others didn't quite match the image I had in my head. But that's part of the fun, isn't it? Sometimes trying something new is more important than getting perfect results.

As I wandered through the garden, I kept finding more and more columbines. Some stood alone, drawing all the attention to themselves. Others blended into larger groups, creating patches of color among the fresh green leaves of late spring. Every one seemed slightly different from the last.

And it wasn't only the columbines, of course. There were plenty of other flowers capturing my attention. The garden was full of color and life...

Still, when I reviewed the photographs later that day, I had to laugh. Despite all my wandering and all my attempts to photograph different subjects...

...the flowers were as stunning as ever ;)

...and most of them were columbines!

Thanks ChatGPT for helping me with this story :)

Photos taken on May 30, 2026.