In the wild, wood anemone grows as a monoculture under hedgerows and in woodland but it can also be seen making a natural, perfect combination with pale lilac cuckoo flower or creamy yellow wild daffodils on road verges. Rain, heavy cloud, or nightfall cause them to shut up shop again. The daisy-like flowers of wood anemone open to the day, expanding their petals in the sun. Above: Anemone nemorosa in a wooded glade. quinquefolia, found in the northeastern part of the United States. The European wood anemone (shown here) has dozens of American relations the most similar is A. There are hundreds of anemone species, including the intensely colored florist’s flower Anemone coronaria (commonly called poppy anemone). Wild Anemone nemorosa is generally white, sometimes giving an impression of pale lilac or pink, when these colors appear on the petals’ reverse. Since it prefers ground where there is plenty of leaf litter, generally among trees, this gently spreading habit should be welcome. Wood anemone, or windflower, is a spreader, where it is happy. Above: Anemone nemorosa at the Royal Horticultural Society’s gardens at Wisley in southern England. Photography by Britt Willoughby Dyer, for Gardenista. If the wood anemone is not often seen in your woods, or you’d like to create your own glade, plant them in the conditions they prefer: dappled spring sunshine, in ground that is damp in winter. Both originally from Ireland, the flower and the man were reunited in the Oxford Botanic Garden, where it was formally identified. A rare exception, he noted, was the pale blue Anemone nemorosa ‘Robinsoniana’. “The wood anemone is so often seen in the woods that there is rarely need to grow it,” wrote the wild-gardening plantsman William Robinson in 1883. Icon - Check Mark A check mark for checkbox buttons. Icon - Twitter Twitters brand mark for use in social sharing icons. Icon - Pinterest Pinterests brand mark for use in social sharing icons. flipboard Icon - Instagram Instagrams brand mark for use in social sharing icons. Icon - Facebook Facebooks brand mark for use in social sharing icons. Icon - Email Used to indicate an emai action. Icon - Search Used to indicate a search action. Icon - Zoom In Used to indicate a zoom in action on a map. Icon - Zoom Out Used to indicate a zoom out action on a map. Icon - Location Pin Used to showcase a location on a map. Icon - Dropdown Arrow Used to indicate a dropdown. Icon - Close Used to indicate a close action. Icon - Down Chevron Used to indicate a dropdown. Icon - Message The icon we use to represent an email action. Icon - External Link An icon we use to indicate a button link is external. Icon - Arrow Right An icon we use to indicate a leftwards action. Wood Anemones: A Guide to Planting, Care, and Design Icon - Arrow Left An icon we use to indicate a rightwards action.