Friday 1 April 2011

Blogging from A to Z April challenge Anemones

This challenge is inspired and initiated by Arlee Bird at Tossing It Out. The objective is to  post every day in April, apart from Sundays, using the alphabet sequentially.
Thus, by April 30th, there should (!!) be 26 posts. 
More than 1000 bloggers have signed up so there will be in excess of 26000 posts!!

The co-hosts are as follows:-

Jeffrey Beesler at World of the Scribe
Alex J Cavanaugh at Alex J Cavanaugh
Jen Daiker of Unedited
Candace Ganger of The Misadventures in Candyland
Karen J Gowen at Coming Down the Mountain
Talli Roland
Stephen Tremp of Breakthrough Blogs

Anemone pavonina

Anemones are members of the buttercup family (Ranunculaceae)

I like the sturdy stems of Anemone pavonina with ruffs of raggedy green leaves at the base and the vibrant jewel colours of velvety petals. They have a deceptively simple construction but reward closer observation. 

They are all beautiful but my particular favourites are the rich and royal purple flowers.

The other anemones I enjoy are the Japanese anemone (Anemone hupehensis) sometimes known as Japanese Windflower or Japanese Thimbleflower. The name is misleading as they are natives of Hupeh Province in China. However, they have been grown and naturalised in Japan for hundreds of years.
Anemone hupehensis flower bud
There are well-established clumps of tall Japanese anemones in my front garden, providing colour and interest from the first emergence of green leaves in Spring to downy buds in early August through the long-lasting flowering to the final formation of attractive seed heads in late October.

It is such a generous plant and demands little attention, though some gardeners claim that it can be rampant. One gardening correspondent describes it as ‘thuggish’!  However, I am grateful for any plant that deigns to grow in my garden and welcome its awakening each year.

20 comments:

  1. What a glorious colour, just beautiful!

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  2. I adore Anemones! That have such beautiful colors! Your photos were super. :D

    I dropped in for the A-Z challenge.

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  3. Great blog - and beautiful photos!
    Good luck with the A-Z Challenge!

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  4. Demands little attention? Sounds like my kind of plant!

    And that really is a great color!

    Visiting from the A to Z Challenge!

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  5. Flowers are even more beautiful when you see close-up photos like these. They are so finely made and the varied colours are so beautifully arranged.

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  6. What beautiful pictures. Thanks for the change of pace from all the writing.=)
    Edge of Your Seat Romance

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  7. Lovely photos. Especially like the second one. Anemones are in my list of favourite garden plants too. Nice and easy. Absolute favourite: Honorine Jobert. Luvly.
    Good luck with this new challenge.

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  8. You have a gorgeous, colorful blog! The vivid hues of the anemones take my breath away. Thanks for sharing these photos and facts!

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  9. Janice - how beautiful! I love blue and purple flowers so this was a real treat for me! Anemones are great.

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  10. A wonderful start to the blog and beautiful flowers who could ask for more.

    Thanks for the kind words on my blog.
    Yvonne.

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  11. Great photos! It reminds me of the Alaska Wild Rose. I agree with Karen Peterson above, the less attention it needs the better chance it has of surviving my "care".

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  12. Beautiful flowers. I love the purple.


    Wanda
    The Watered Soul

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  13. I didn't realize there were so many varieties of anemone. Yours are lovely!

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  14. Now those are some flowers I could use here right now. Very beautiful.

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  15. The purple anemones are gorgeous, the color is so rich. The only ones I have seen here are the Japanese Anemones. I would love to have any variety in my garden.

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  16. Since I love fuchsia and purple colors, this really appeals to me. Very beautiful! I wish I could plant them here in Hawaii, but I have such a brown thumb.

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  17. Stunning pictures and beautiful pictures - your post has brought some serenity to my morning!

    Ellie Garratt

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  18. I love these photos. Gorgeous colours.

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