Vulgar? Not even common...

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This post is about another plant that is incredibly dear to me, the Pasqueflower. 

Heavens knows why its botanical name is Pulsatilla vulgaris, it must be a common sight somewhere. If you happen to know, please let me know as enquiring minds like to know these things.

It starts out pretty unassuming from winter dormancy and forms a neat little clump, the leaves a very bright, nearly acidic green, all tactile and feathery~furry.

It is a herbaceous perennial in the ranunculus familyand as its English name suggests, it flowers around Easter time when it makes a welcome splash of violet, dusky pink or red, depending on the cultivar. Although I am fond of narcissi and daffodils, a bit of raspberry red is always a joy to me, so no surprise that I have chosen Pulsatilla vulgaris 'Rubra' for my own garden.  

Within a week or so from the first picture the flowerheads have opened and aren't they a delight?

  
With this cultivar you get deep raspberry red petals and the stamens in the centre are full on gold. Although the flowers are of the nodding bell type, in full sunshine they open out and up, attracting early pollen feeding insects.

This close up has a ladybird to prove a point and also shows quite nicely the size of the flowerheads.

I am surprised that Pasqueflowers are not seen so often; they are happy with little care and are not prone to much in the way of disease and pests. Yet, they are not always stocked by the trade. Not even my preferred wholesaler for herbaceous plants stocks them and when queries as to why referred to them as alpines. Could it be that their preference for more "alpine" growing conditions is putting people off? Could the reference to alpines put people off as we see with the reduced interest in rockeries? Or is the horticultural trade put off by the effort needed to grow them? I find that hard to believe as they can be propagated by seed or root cuttings in the winter.

  

Although pasqueflowers take a little while to get established, if you have a sunny spot with good drainage, or even a gravel garden, they should thrive. 

In the back of my mind lurks a planting plan featuring colonies of these and I am just waiting for a suitable garden to try this out.