Your columbines look a little different from mine. Perhaps more than one variety exists, and I didn't know it. Mine are blooming now, too.
Shortly after I read your post, I ran across this in a gardening newsletter I receive: "Early Spring Flowering Trees and Shrubs (Crabapples, Lilacs, Forsythia, etc.) should be pruned for shape and size when the flowers have fallen. If done later, or when they’re dormant, you will cut off the next season’s flower buds."
So maybe a fall pruning of the lilacs isn't a good idea.
Wow, that is good to know, thanks for the heads up. I will prune the lilac after the flowers fall off. It has gotten so large, I think a trim back would be beneficial. Yes, there are different varieties of Columbine. I will try to find some good pictures and show them. I bet your gardens are lovely right now, too.
I don't have as many flowers as you have. Just the lilacs, columbines, and a bleeding heart. Later there should be Siberian iris and some lilies. Just yesterday I learned why the bearded iris hasn't bloomed for years: somehow the rhizomes got covered up, and they need direct sunshine on them in order for the flowers to develop. I promptly cleared the dirt off them, but it may be too late for this year. I can always re-plant them (very properly!) in the fall.
You are so right, Iris doesn't like the rhizomes covered. I lost all mine to the borers years back and never replaced them. I only have the dwarf ones now, and a few Louisiana Iris.
I used to have many more iris than I do now, in many different colors, thanks to a generous neighbor who had an amazing perennial garden. But it got to be too much for me to keep weeded, so I dug them all up and gave them all away. I got just a few of them back from my daughter a few years ago, and those are the ones that have not been blooming. Oh, I did keep several short iris that smell like root beer!
I believe it, it takes a lot of energy to care for so many perennials all season long. I used to have an iris that smelled like bubblegum, and all the kids got a kick out of it.
Oh, that's funny! Never heard of that scent before!