Flower heralds spring with aristocratic flair

Press, 15 August 1980, Page 11

Flower heralds spring with aristocratic flair

GARDENER’S DIARY

Derrick Rooney

One of the sure signs of spring, confirmed yesterday by a quick scratch in the sawdust mulch, is the pending reappearance of one of my favourite spring flowers, the woodland anemone.

Two of its relatives, Adonis amurensis and Hepatica triloba (which used to be called Anemone hepatica), are already in flower. The buds of the anemones, with their characteristic hooked necks and downcast visage, are just below soil level. By the end of the month, or earlier, they will be through, and by mid-Sep-tember they will be in full blow.

These woodlanders are not to be confused with the popular, and brilliantly coloured, bedding anemones bred from the Middle Eastern “flowers of Adonis.” Rather, they are restrained to gentler hues, and they have an air of grace and — dare I say it —aristocratic flair. Anemone nemorosa is the “wood anemone” of Britain and Europe. It has been in cultivation for centuries, and there are numerous varieties. Nurseries . often list it among rock-garden plants, but it is not an alpinist. It likes a dash of sunshine in the spring to bring on the flowers, but it resents being baked in summer, so the semi-shade oast by deciduous shrubs is the place for it. The tuberous roots are elongated and brownish, like little bits of driftwood. The species spreads both by seeding- and by root increase, and where the soil — which it likes light and leafy — suits it will run about madly. But it is never a nuisance, because it disappears under-

ground at the first sniff of summer.

The flowers are white, pink, or blue, and have seven petals, usually. “Allenii,” “Blue Bonnet” and “Robinsoniana” are the varieties most likely to be encountered in the garden.

The former was raised by one James Allen at Shepton Mallet about 90 years ago, and has the largest flowers, lilac in the bud and lavender when open.

“Blue Bonnet,” which is very old and of unknown origin, has smaller flowers, bluish grey in the bud and azure when open.

“Robinsoniana” is named after William Robinson, pioneer of the informal style of gardening and author in 1883 of “The English Flower Garden,” source of the delightful line engraving that graces this page.

Robinson found his anemone growing in the Oxford Botanic Garden in 1883; it had been sent there from Ireland, but it is not recorded whether the flower had been found growing wild or -was of garden origin. It is a vigorous spreader and a free floweret, and one of its points of identification is

a wrinkled edge on the petals. The flowers are creamy in the bud, pale lavender when open. Several double forms of Anemone nemorosa are recorded. “Alba Plena” is the only one readily obtainable. Unlike the larger members of the genus, it does not doff its charm and grace with the doubling of the petals. The flowers are like little camellias. Even more camellia-like is “Vestal,” a very old variety that flowers later than the others. Its flowers have the usual seven outer petals, framing a tightly packed button eye of tiny petals — a perfect miniaturisation of the “Anemonoides” camellia. “Vestal” may not be “pure” Anemone nemorosa, for as well as

flowering out of step it has smooth leaves, whereas most of the others have hairy ones. It has become a rare plant, and perhaps has lost some of its vigour in its old age (the first published description was about 1870, but the plant is much older). • My plant has been gone for a year or two; it died suddenly after it had

grown lustily for several years. ' The nurseryman from whom .it came has lost it, too, and it does not seem now to be listed by any grower in the country. The older and odder “Bracteata” is still available, however. I have never been able to decide whether I grow this because it is enchanting, or as a curiosity. It is one of the quirkiest plants. Most of the flowers are double, crammed. with narrow petals, all the same size. The outer row is green. Occasionally all the petals are greeni Some flowers are only semi-double, and a few are single, striped and splashed green in varying amounts. One of my clumps produces only single flowers.

“Bracteata” is very old; it was figured in books of the sixteenth century. And it is very vigorous, which is more than can be said of the tiny Anemone ranudculoides. The books say this species has yellow flowers, but in my garden they are closer to orange. It is the smallest of all anemones. The flowers are barely half an inch across and the whole plant is only a few inches high. There is no obstentation about it, but it is a charmer. A form with double flowers is now available from several sources, and one day I must add it to my shopping list. A close relative of these is Anemone appenina. from the lower slopes of the Italian alps. It has. clear blue flowers with numerous narrow petals, and there is an Albino form in cultivation too. Anemone appenina, like most others in this group, is a shade lover. But Anemone blanda (the name means . “pleasing”), another European, is a sun worshipper. It has large flowers, with seven wide petals, and may be white, blue, or pink. The best form has petals in a warm rosy pink.