Yep, Floral...but it lasted all of 30 minutes. Our public greens are still hard and beige. The Japanese anemones are one of the only plants in flower at the moment. I have to say, I am a tad baffled at the general lack of flowers...or any colour other than green (which I have managed to keep going in my minuscule home garden). Thinking about this time last year, I am certain that all the salvias were flowering (including a terrific Amistad, now no more), plus my few concessions to summer bedding - bacopa and osteospermums...but this year is depressingly flower-free. I have been reluctant to feed (because drought) but I imagine the endless watering will have leached out the soil (recall - my garden is a pot garden) so a blast of Osma is sorely needed. Nope, I have not been enjoying the last 3 months at all. Ruffled Swan - fail Anemone sylvestris - fail. Anemone rivularis - fail and to my utter dismay - anemonopsis macrophylla - fail multifida, blanda, nemorosa managed a spring showing and sensibly hibernated till next year (I sincerely hope).

Not to stray even farther, but I think plants keep us humble. Our County Ag Agent isn't ashamed to tell how he finally purchased some daphne, planting some in his own garden and giving the rest to his brother-in-law. Now, our CAA, coming from a family that owned a nursery in addition to his formal training, was well aware not only of the finicky nature of daphne, but also how to meet those needs, and he made sure he did all the right things at the right times. His daphne were fine ... and then, one day, they just inexplicably, without warning, up and died. His BIL, being a somewhat casual gardener, treated the daphne with something just a tad better than benign neglect ... and they are still alive and thriving! Go figure. I've given up on delphinium. Love 'em, tried 'em, lost 'em. I finally found out they just don't like our humid weather. 'Windswept' buds are swelling and should be open soon.

I think the flowers are supposed to be slightly larger on 'Andrea' and it may be a bit shorter to reduce the need for staking. My opinion is that 'Honorine Jobert' has survived as long as it has for a reason -- it is probably the best Japanese Anemone available and definitely the best white one. Armitage claims that 'Honorine Jobert' may be the same as 'Alba' but 'Andrea Atkinson' is a distinct cultivar as far as I know.

Last year I bought one dark blue anemone which I loved but one morning it had been cut off at the base of the stalk and the root looked as if it had been disturbed. This weekend I bought three more, one of which was blue and two red. Yesterday I noticed that the blue one had disappreared completely and one of the red ones had been almost cut though the stalk and both of these plants were missing a bud that was developing. Is there a known pest that attacks anemones please as I have not even planted them into the ground yet? A further questoon applies to the 15 anemone De Caan "Mr Fokker" corms I jhave purchased. (coronaria). Are these difficult to grow and what tips can you give to make them successful please.