Japanese Anemone

Japanese Anemone

JAPANESE FLOWER

A piece of my collection of paintings after a trip to the heart of Japan. This painting was a combination of imagination and reality.

It can take Japanese anemones a year or two to settle in after planting, but once they got going, they are very easy to care for. A word of caution – if they are happy with their conditions, they will spread, sending out underground stems called rhizomes that will put out roots and grow into new plants. To keep them under control, remove unwanted new shoots in spring as they appear.

When their flowers fade, Japanese anemones develop small round fluffy seed heads which are a popular food source for little birds like goldfinches. Once the bird has had their fill and the flower stems start to look untidy, cut them back to ground level. In spring, remove the dead leaves. New leaves appear early, giving the plants long- a lasting presence in the garden.

Anemones are usually not much troubled by garden pests and disease, and they’re less attractive to rabbits and deer than many other perennials, so they’re the right choice for gardens where this is a problem. Butterflies love flowers.