ANEMONE. Windflower. Widespread, mostly Northern Hemisphere. Nearly every gardener is familiar with these buttercup relatives by way of A. coronaria, whose hybrids are widely available in the fall bulb market. Yet their number includes many other showy perennials with beautiful leaves and large flowers. The leaves are mostly basal, often long-stalked and variously lobed or dissected. The flowers are usually elevated, singly or in small clusters, on sparsely leafy stalks. They have five to many petal-like segments which vary in hue from snow white to deep red or purple. At their centers are dense, sometimes colorful brushes of stamens. Most anemones are deciduous during some part of the year, or nearly so. Cultural requirements vary somewhat, though nearly all selections listed below are hardy to 0^oF. or below.

pulsatilla. Pasque flower. Quite distinct from the last, this species forms tight, low clumps. Silky, dissected leaves appear with or immediately following 2-3" blossoms, carried on individual stems in spring. We grow the typical species, with lavender-blue flowers, and the varieties alba, with pure white flowers, and rubra, with maroon flowers. Difficult except near the coast and at high elevations, for it requires a combination of sun, relatively cool temperatures, well drained soil, and moderate watering.

sylvestris. Snowdrop anemone. An old-fashioned garden plant, now little known in California. It spreads by underground rhizomes—not as rampantly as A. h. japonica—to form a loose carpet. The deeply parted leaves form an attractive foil for 1" nodding, fragrant pure white blossoms displayed from late spring to fall. Light shade except along the coast, well drained soil, moderate to regular watering.