Celandines, whose idea was that?

Well I claim it was the Digger’s idea to introduce celandines (Ranunculus) into the garden. “They look nice” he said, “and they’re easy to grow”. Yes they are. Indeed they are. Big mistake. Our only excuse is that we had just begun gardening and were complete novices.

After the initial plant was installed it looked so good that I went on to collect about six named varieties. Some of them, like Ranunculus ficaria “Bowles Double” below, remain in neat clumps. Cheerful flowers for February and March.

Most of them, however seeded everywhere with a vengeance. They are very difficult to eradicate as they not only seed but also have little tubers at their roots, each of which can break off and develop into a new plant. Each year I remove dozens of seedlings but I can’t bear to get rid of the original plants. They have such attractive spring flowers. There are single flowers, doubles and shades of yellow, cream, orange and even green. Some have very decorative foliage.

Our prize specimen was “Brazen Hussy” - so well named. She proceeded to romp through the garden and managed to seed herself everywhere in a very promiscuous manner. She’s very recognisable as she has shiny, chocolate brown leaves and large golden yellow flowers. Very beautiful as you can see from the picture below.

One thing saves the garden from being swamped and that’s our soil which is very light and stony. Ranunculus take their name from “rana” the Latin for frog, because they prefer damp conditions to really thrive. Thank heavens for that! Luckily after flowering they disappear underground till next year and I can forget they exist until next spring when the cycle begins once again.