I'm pretty sure that's it,! Oenothera macrocarpa...according to the pic. According to the article Remy linked to, This species is a perennial with a fairly short bloom period. Its flowers may be seen in May and June, with the peak being mid-May in Kansas. Like I said b4...mine blooms off and on all season, and is a real favorite. I am clueless where it even came from. Thank you everyone. You all are the bestest and so knowledgeable. I refer lots of folks over here, telling them someone can most likely help them with an identity, even with just a good description. Sue...happy to have that solved.

Gulp. I'm eating my words. Of course there had to be more to the plant so I went back to the original photo and it appears to show three lance-shaped leaves arrayed in a whorl below the third capsule. I will post a new photo showing that---although it is difficult to see because there is a big blurry grass blade right in front of it. I definitely think we're in the right neighborhood, something in the lily family, but I'm no botonist. --Yogum

Another consideration is the birds. I haven't noticed them feeding on Columbine seeds, but they love other perennials, like Black Eyed Susan and other Rudbeckia, Coneflower,Shasta Daisy, Maximillian Sunflower and many of the ornamental grasses. I always let a good many of these set seed, just for the birds. My garden is swarming with Gold and House Finches from now through fall. When I'm not going to collect seed from my Columbines, I cut their flower stems off with most of the foliage, when the leaf miners start moving in. It usually happens before the seed has ripened, so it takes care of the re-seeding issue, and interrupts the leaf miner cycle. The plants put on a fresh flush of gorgeous foliage in short order.

Verbena bonariensis planted with orange cosmos sulphureus (tall combo) California poppies -- mine have been blooming non-stop and producing seeds on the spent blooms. Larkspur -- spring Cornflowers-- 'Red Ball' is great IMHO -- lasts May-June with deadheading, but let some go to seed nigella (I have extra seeds to share) -- get one plant to bloom and you'll never be without seeds. May bloom. interesting seed pods after. rose campion shasta daisy 'Alaska' perennial ageratum -- seeds and spreads in moist areas echinacea 'Prairie Splendor' seeds are easy to germinate and quick to bloom nepeta 'Six Hills Giant' -- big plant; divide or seed rudbeckia 'Goldsturm' -- buy one plant and it reseeds like crazy. Not my fave, but it's a filler. monarda - buy one plant and it spreads. I like 'Blue Stocking', 'Raspberry Wine' and 'Jacob Cline' bog sage - buy one plant and it spreads salvia nemorosa 'Caradonna', 'Marcus', 'Sensation Rose' -- will produce seeds like parent amsonia hubrichtii (blue star) -- great native plant for 3 seasons platycoden (balloon flower) -- don't move the seedlings after they are a few inches high. crepe myrtle 'Tuscarora' -- I find babies all the time! Blooms watermelon color. baptisia -- you may get more than you want, so be sure to control the seed pods bronze fennel -- be very careful. you can get thousands of seedlings in one year. linaria 'Canon J Went' - should be able to pull the extras. pink linum narbonense 'Heavenly Blue' (flax) -- my absolute favorite reseeding perennial. I have a link on the left side of my blog where I show photos and list flowers that I grow from seed. I don't have all of these up there yet. Also, I wrote about affordable coneflowers with bee balm (below). Cameron Here is a link that might be useful: An Affordable Flower Combination