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I’ve seen the usual white form of Anemone nemerosa, the wood anemone, both in the wild and in gardens. However, I didn’t know that there were cultivated forms of this pretty wildflower until I came across this delightful blue-flowered plant in a woodland garden.
Anemone nemorosa is a native wildflower in the UK. The white-flowered plants of the species can be found in woodlands around the country in early spring.
This cultivar is, I think, either Anemone nemorosa ‘Alenii’ or ‘Robinsoniana’, both with lavender-blue flowers and attractive deeply-cut foliage. There are other blue-flowered cultivars, including the similarly-coloured ‘Lismore Blue’ and ‘Hannah Gubbay’, which both have large flowers. There is also the darker-coloured ‘Royal Blue’. (If my garden offered the right conditions, there would be plenty to choose from!)
As a woodland plant, Anemone nemorosa prefers a site in dappled shade, in humusy soil that is well-drained but moist and cool. These are far from the conditions in my own very sunny garden, so I’ll be happy to just enjoy them in other people’s gardens. Or if I am lucky, perhaps I’ll see the white ones in the wild again.
Ann Mackay: Inspired by Nature 