Easter parade
Pint-sized pasque flowers are enjoying their moment in the sun and putting on a stunning...
I’VE just returned from my garden, where I was down on my hands and knees admiring a dinky perennial that’s having its moment in the sun. The plant responsible for luring me outside on a chilly, wet morning was Pulsatilla vulgaris, with its slightly nodding, bell-shaped purple flowers embellished with bright yellow centres.
In my opinion, it’s worth hitting the floor to enjoy this plant while it blooms in April and May – but it has a much longer season of interest. In early spring, a cluster of fuzzy buds appear above the ground and are carried upwards on naked, 8in-tall stems. As flowering progresses, a clump of lacy foliage develops.
Even after its floral display is over, Pulsatilla vulgaris remains in the spotlight thanks to its spherical, feathery white seed heads that last well into summer before finally being dispersed by the wind.
Once they’ve gone, their fern-like leaves take over and add a verdant note until plants start to fizzle out in late summer.
My floral gem is one of almost 100 different pulsatillas that go by the common name of pasque flower, a name bestowed upon them because they bloom around Easter time.
Let me explain. Pasque is a French word that comes from
the Latin Pascha, meaning Easter
– this word itself derives from
Once thought to grow from soil soaked in Vikings’ blood
Pesach, Hebrew for Passover. Pasque flowers are native to meadows, prairies and mountainous regions of North America, Asia and Europe, with Pulsatilla vulgaris indigenous to Britain. It was once fairly widespread but is now restricted to a few chalk and limestone grassland sites in the Chilterns, Cotswolds, East Anglia and Lincolnshire.
In the folklore of plants, our pasque flower was once known as Dane’s Blood as it was believed the flower sprang from soil that
had been soaked in the blood of Vikings killed in combat.
This is complete nonsense, of course, and the story probably
originates from plants being found on battle sites and old burial mounds.
Over the years, breeding work on wild species has given rise to a
raft of gorgeous varieties with bell- or cup-shaped flowers perched
on 4in to 12in-tall stems. An individual plant can produce more than 30 blooms in shades of white, yellow, red, pink, blue and purple, depending on variety, measuring 1½in to 3½in across.
Pasque flowers like a sunny spot and very well-drained soil – they detest having wet feet and will almost certainly rot if planted in claggy ground that becomes waterlogged in winter. If necessary, improve the soil before planting by working in plenty of horticultural grit and garden compost.
These pint-sized lovelies are perfect at the front of mixed beds and borders, rubbing shoulders with spring-flowering bulbs or seasonal bedding. Turn heads by
planting them in small groups, setting them about 20in apart. Another option is to dot individual plants within rock gardens, scree beds and gravel gardens.
A clever way of growing them in gardens with heavy soil is to
raise them in containers. They look great displayed alongside
other compact gems in troughs, bowls and patio planters, or set alone in terracotta or stone pots filled with a 50/50 mixture of soilbased John Innes No1 compost and horticultural grit.
When it comes to looking after pasque flowers, protect emerging shoots from slugs and snails in spring and ensure pots are moved
to a spot sheltered from rain in winter. Dead-heading will prolong flowering, but doing so will mean you miss out on their attractive, wispy seed heads.