Friday, June 5, 1992 - North Shore News — 453

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Personal favorites from the anemone family

THE BEST part about writing this column is the opportu-

nity it provides me to pontificate about my passions and

prejudices.

I try very hard to restrict these
ramblings to the realm of plants
and other gardening topics. How-
ever, I must concede to the occa-
sional deviant detour into fields
more political in nature than nat-
ural,

Fear not, I begin this week’s
issue with every intention of stick-
ing to the subject of gardening on
the North Shore.

I shall not mention my disap-
pointment over the apparent lack
of enthusiasm the council of West
Vancouver has shown concerning
the promised and yet-to-be-
delivered environmental commis-
sion. Just as I shall choke back
my praise for their commitment to
smoke-free skies by steadfastly
sticking to the ban on burning.

I would much rather ramble on
about members of the anemone
family.

The windflower or anemonea
ap. is actually a very large family
indeed. There are over 150 dif-
ferent varicties which include the
generally larger summer- and
fall-flowering perennials as well as
the small, tuberous-rooted, spr-
ing-blooming forms. They come
to us from around the world — as
near as our own Interior and as
far as Asia and Europe.

My personal favorites are as
follows:

A. blanda works well in the
rockery or the partially shaded
shrub border. It prefers full sun
but is also quite tolerant of the
filtered shade found under small
shade trees such as Japanese

Geoff
Tobiasson

OVER THE GARDEN GATE
maples and flowering cherries. It
mixes well in a backdrop of low,
evergreen shrubs such as azaleas
or heather; add clusters of nar-
cissi, daffodils or scillas for max-
imum effect.

The most highly sought-after
flower color is the sky-blue for
which they are famous, but you
should also look for the mauve,
pink and white shades. The
haired, finely divided leaves re-
main more compact and_tidier
than most cf the tuberous forms.

The fact that this plant origi-
nates in the mountains of Greece
tells us much about where it
prefers to grow. he best loca-
tions are those with soils compris-
ed of a light, well-drained loam.
As it prefers less acidic soils than

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more, liberal applications of
bonemeal fate in fall are recom-
mended.

As with all of the tuberous
rooted anemones, these are best
planted after an overnight soaking
in water in early spring. If planted
in late fall, give them protection
over the first winter with two to
four inches of leaf mulch. This
can be removed at the first sign of
warmer weather in spring.

I have talked about A. japonica
on many previous occasions as it
is not only one of my favorite
anemones, but also a favored fall
flowering plant. I have detailed its
qualities on several occasions so I
will not do it again here except to
say that it is worth a deeper look
on your part.

There are fai too many good
plants out there that are worthy of
much more attention than they are
currently getting. A. nemorosa or
the wood anemone is an excellent
example of such a plant.

I spoke about this one with the
head of Valleybrook Gardens
Ltd., home of the Heritage line of
fine perennials and supplier of
plants from Blooms of Brass-
ingham. I am pleased to note that
he recently began production and
should have plants available in
one to two years.

Light and delicate, multi-petall-
ed, pastel blooms in pink, mauve
and blue cover this plant for a
lengthy period in March and

44 They come to us from around

the world; as near as our own

interior and from as far away as

Asia and Europe. 99

April. The finely cut foliage is at-
tractive right up until it fades in
mid-summer.

In its native, woodland habitats
throughout Europe, it performs as
an excellent ground cover in damp
shade. This makes it a great can-
didate for those areas under the
evergreens of the North Shore.
Note that bonemea) should be ap-
plied every fall to combat the
natural acidity in these areas, and
extra water during the dry season
will ensure healthy growth.

There has been a great deal of
confusion over a. puisatifla or the
Pasque flower for many years.
From what I can gather, it was
named anemone pulsatilla then

was changed to pulsatilla vulgaris,
then recently switched back again.
Now I have seen it listed as a.
patens L. var. Multivida Pritzel;
no wonder the public is confused
by botanical names.

This native to the eastern areas
of B.C. and most areas of the
prairies has only recently become
widely available.

The most common form pro-
duces purple to wine-red flowers
very early in the spring. Although
flowers arrive before the leaves,
they are closely followed by furry,
silver-hued foliage. Popular for a
reason, you should look this plant
up. It is a worthy addition to the