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Mountain Wind-Flower
Anemone apennina.
BOTANISTS have too much to say about British plants that are possibly not British. This lovely blue anemone occurs wild in Bedfordshire, Surrey, Herts, and Berks. One writer calls it an alien, but adds that it is spread through the land from Devon to Banff, and has been long established in Surrey. This statement may be right, but it may be wrong, and the evil to be complained of is that positive statements are founded on negative evidence. We will suppose that long before the British islands were separated from the continent of Europe, this anemone, with others, such as nemorosa, pulsatilla, and ranunculoides, had its place here, and assisted to maintain the floral connection between what is now Britain and the great lands eastwards and northwards of which it was the western promontory. The conditions may have been such that the plant was never widely spread or in great abundance anywhere, and when the separation took place it was made to appear like a waif or stray for all time to come, because it was not in force enough to assert its nationality. This is all supposition, and much of the botanical doctrine is no better. Of this we feel satisfied, that many plants have from the earliest ages obtained a hold on certain parts of these islands, but have been unable to spread themselves, and they now appear as accidents, whereas they are as truly indigenous as any vegetables known to us. Man is a terrible destroyer of plants, and at the same time a most effectual preserver and multiplier. Since he came upon this scene the vegetation must have altered much, not only as a consequence of natural changes in the climate, but of man's operations as a hunter, a forester, a farmer, and a perpetual consumer of everything eatable the earth produces. We will suppose the flowers of some particular plant to be much liked by man, by his cattle, and by wild birds and beasts. How long would such a plant last in a country abounding with animal life? It would be quickly obliterated, for it would have but few opportunities of ripening seeds. As a matter of fact, man stands almost alone as a consumer of flowers: the animals, of whatever kind, but rarely touch them; the family cow will not eat the buttercups that are said to give their colour to the butter, and the bee that sucks the honey from a flower rarely does it any harm, but rather promotes the spread of the plant by brushing the pollen from the stamens, and so causing the fertilisation which insures a growth of perfect seeds. As for man, he plucks flowers because their beauty impresses him, or because he wishes to obtain their odours and their essences; he destroys many by draining the land, others by burning the land, and others again by clearing away the woods that certain flowers need for shelter and protection. The botanists all agree in declaring that this lovely anemone is not a native, but as they know nothing about the way in which it first obtained its foothold here, we are not inclined to accept their declarations. The mountain anemone, or Apennine windflower, is in every proper sense of the term a rockery plant. It attains to its highest luxuriance of growth in alpine pastures, the pure air, strong light, and abundant humidity of the mountains favouring the production of large flowers of the most delightful colour. Its serrated leaves provide a soft green groundwork for the large blue flowers, which rise from four to six inches, and are in perfection during March and April, occasionally lingering on to the middle of May. Nevertheless, though loving the breezy heights, this sweet flower readily accommodates itself to the conditions of garden cultivation, and is not easily overpowered by other robust habited plants, for when established it spreads in dense tufts, and holds its own against all weather and all vegetable antagonists. As a plant for pot culture, for the frame, or alpine house, it is invaluable, because it may then be set upon the parlour table if need be, but in the alpine house it helps to make a cheerful picture with other anemones and with the drabas, the smaller irises, the erythroniums, and the primulas that flower at the same time, rendering a genuine alpine house one of the best of toys for a true amateur of the garden.
As companions of Anemone apennina on the rockery, the following are admirably adapted, and will afford much delight:- Anemone blanda, flowers deep sky-blue, larger than those of A. apennina, and appearing earlier. A. fulgens and A. stellata are nearly related; they are exquisitely beautiful, and give us scarlet, purple, ruby, rosy, and blush-coloured flowers. A. nemorosa, the native wood anemone, is a lovely thing, and various in its characters. We have single and double varieties; we have them white, blush, lilac, reddish, purplish, and rich sky-blue; and all are worthy of a place on the rockery, though they will also thrive in any good border. A. palmata is the cyclamen-leaved anemone, a fine plant with flowers glossy yellow or pure white. This species has both single and double varieties. A. ranunculoides is like the Apennine plant, but has yellow flowers. Finally, A. sylvestris, the snowdrop anemone, claims attention for its beautiful white flowers of large size freely produced on a groundwork of green leaves. Other more famous kinds may for the present be left to speak for themselves; it is enough to mention here a few of the finer varieties which are not so generally known.
