Balkan Anemones , A Perfect Ground Cover
Which plant have you got for ground covers? I've got a few but definitely not just grass and Balkan Anemones . I planted them to make sure not much weed take over my garden and to make sure that the soil won't dry up and get scorched from the hot sun. If that happens a gust of wind could cause it to erode to the sidewalk or a bit of rain could cost you buying sacks of soil for your garden since no ground covers held the soil together.
One of my Dutch friends told me that if I want to know whether it's officially spring - look for a flowering Balkan Anemones . That she learned from her great granny who learned it from her great granny back when clock and calendars don't exist yet. Yes, plums and other fruiting trees could tell you that, too but sometimes, those fruiting trees could bolt so it's not very credible but the bloom of Balkan Anemones confirm that it is Spring. Amazing that a long time ago, people here just rely on plants to tell them the change in season. Had I not lived here, I wouldn't have known thank the heavens for not allowing me to be just like lake frog.
Hub set just one rhizome of this in the ground and I've accidentally dug that rhizome when I was thinning the blue shades we have in the front yard to move a few in the back yard. The rhizome looks like that of a ginger's just browner and rather - skinny and looking dry like that of a woman starving herself going on a diet - wrinkled. They're very easy to grow and propagate.
How to take care of a Balkan Anemone?
You don't - this beauty is like an independent woman - she buys the shoes she wears with her own smartly earned money and she's not high maintenance ... I mean ~~ Balkan Anemones can manage on their own. They don't need much attention they know when to wake up and when to get dormant. Just slip the rhizome into the soil in fall, mulch a bit and it'll send it's shoot as soon as the Spring is near. Thin it or break the rhizome into pieces and surely it'll creep away before you even know it. Like an unnoticed woman climbing up to success effortlessly and quietly - you only get to notice her presence when she starts blooming. Must be the envy of the crocuses (grin).
If you thin your Balkan Anemones make sure to plant the ones you dug up on shallow holes beside a taller bushy plant that could serve as its shade. If you live in a place like The Netherlands where it rains and hails even in late Spring then you won't have to mind watering them but if you don't make sure that the newly transplanted Balkan Anemones get enough water. That's it - easy peasy ey? If you plant it on pots, just find a shady spot for that pot so they won't get scorched.
It's not the only thing my friend told me about Balkan Anemones - her granny also taught her that they could tell you when it's going to rain and where the sun is. Flowers of Balkan Anemones would automatically close their petals and droop to protect their pollen from the rain. They're teeny tiny so a drop must feel like a tsunami to those teeny tiny pollen that's why they close their petals, bow and take those must be giant rain drops on their back. True ... they also do the same when it's near dusk - like shops they close their petals, too.
On the other hand, on sunny days, their beautiful faces light up and those petals open up in full bloom and like the sun flower they follow the sun. The Balkan Anemones worked like sun dials a very long time ago for this characteristic. Fascinated with the story, I've observed them during my first years here and yes, my friend told me a fact - it's not a myth.
Ground covers like the Balkan Anemones insulate the ground from extreme heat and extreme cold. Like the grass I planted around the pear trees, Balkan Anemones improve the humus level in your soil for the earthworms and other insect or creepy crawlers to thrive in. Those creepy crawlers keep the soil breathing and rich in minerals the plants need. There are so many other ground covers but if you'd like to have one that won't demand much caring - give having a Balkan Anemones a thought.
Have you got ground covers in your garden, too?
Which one? What makes that so special?
Care to share?
I hope you do!
I took each picture with my Samsung Galaxy A3 2016 edition.
You want sources right? Here are your sources:
Anemone Blanda Blue Shades
Anemone Blanda White Splendour
Are you new in Steemit? Kindly read the Complete Steemit Etiquette Guide Revised Edition authored by @thecryptofiend to help us all get along well with each other. Have you been here for quite a long time? Read it, too ..it won't hurt being reminded. Thank you.
Here are my other gardening articles:
A Chart of Plants That Are Compatible or Can Be Planted Next to Each Other
Ooopssss .. I Planted the Onions Close to the Radishes ! (panic)
Where Would Avocado Seeds Germinate Faster - in Soil or in Water?
An Open Notes Gardening Quiz on Some Flowers That Look Alike
Grow Your Own Tropical Mangoes in Western Europe and Other Countries with Hard Winters
How and Which Tropical Plants Can You Actually Grow in Cold Countries
My Log in Growing My Own Moringa Plant Indoors in A Cold Country, Half a Year Later
Gardening Hacks : On Planting Tomatoes and Other Nightshade Plants
Follow My Experiment Log on Planting Chestnuts and Walnuts From Seeds
- Gardening Hacks : Basic Tips in Growing Cacti Indoors
- Which Cactus Is This?
- Tips on Propagating Succulents Like Echeverias
- Flowers That Are Still In Bloom in Late Autumn, 2016
- Firethorns in Autumn
- Mispel or The Medlar Fruit
@englishtchrivy, I guess you are buying your own shoes with your Steemit money.
@vcelier hahahaha not yet :D
maybe when we get to the moon ;)
say .. 1 Steem = at least 100 why not :D
Thank you for posting @englistchrivy.
Lovely photographs and very informational. Enjoyed hearing about the weathermen of yesterday.
Beautiful flowers...anemones...always enjoy having the White Japanese Anemone in the garden.
As for ground cover...a favourite is English Ivy.....bleujay is not trying to get on your good side.......it is true. ^_^
Wishing you all the best. A bientot.
@bleujay hahahha thank you! (for the laugh, too)
I believe you that you are not patronizing me :D hahaha
I would want to have the White Japanese Anemones, too! They're so so beautiful aren't they? The first time I met them was in Koblenz at the back of the church beside the cable car to the fort across the Mossel River.
As for the English Ivy, I pulled the ones that used to crawl on the conifer trees in the backyard. They sour the ground and I put the apples there no can do ;)- sighs why are plants that are named Ivy either caused irritation - like the poison Ivy or sours the ground hahahah
My mom named us all after plants - I was named after
we call this Ivy in the Philippines - she said it could survive anywhere with very little care , my younger sister after a fruit and the youngest after a flower.
I liked my name when I was young - cause it's so easy to write (I have a very long name though) it doesn't finish to Ivy hahahaha but I was teased Poison Ivy cause of this hahaha
Thank you for your reply @englishtchrivy.
Lovely picture....perhaps the ivy bleujay is thinking about is named something different as it is a dark green with a large leaf.
Sweet thought of your Mother's....an expression of what she prized.
'Ivy' is a lovely name. Easy to remember as well. No worries with regard to the name calling...they would have made up something if there was not something they could use easily. However as a child...these things are hard to brush off are they not.
Again.....lovely post regarding a harbinger of Spring.
All the best. Cheers.
@bleujay it's alright - that poison Ivy name was given justice by Uma Thurman ;) and don't worry, been a ray even when I was a child - always lashing back hahaha when needed :D
Cheers!
Oh they are lovely, I just bought some Anemones de Caen! They are beautiful too. I can't wait to see them bloom!
Beauty like an independant woman. My kind of plant! Seriously though I love the spreaders that you can propogate by their rhizomes
@meesterboom Anemones de Caen want them in pots! ^ ^
yes, like an independent woman
source
even just the newly sprouted ones would do as long as the roots aren't too ripped or damaged
In pots you say? I was going to put them about in clumps all over the show! Are they spreaders?
Ah good old leggy beyonce!
@meesterboom yes they spread indeed but also very beautiful - so let them :D
I can't so just in pots - backyard like a forest now too many hahaha
like I hoarded but not really
In that case those critters are being allowed to spread, they look gorgeous!
Very nice photos! Fantastic flower... so delicate! Thanks
@sardrt thank you !
I sent you one of them in your reply thread before ^ ^
Good job! Thank you for sharing!
@bugavi thank you very much~!
Awesome close-ups! Beautiful!
Strange feeling reading the title. Ground cover reminds me of the days I had to wear my camo uniform for 2+years.
@ace108 hey, where have you been?
I missed having you around my posts glad to see you got lost :D
hmm... sounds like you have been rambo some time :D
Sorry, been upvoted but TBH didn't have time to comment on all.
We are when young man had to serve in the military for 2 years.
My time was 2.5 years.
Interesting and beautiful!
@lud thank you!
You said: "They're very easy to grow and propagate."
I said, "I'm going to follow her everywhere!"
This is valuable info, one question though, do deer enjoy them? We have an issue with the deer just using our garden area as a lunch buffet.
@cosmictriage thank you!
Unfortunately I'm not sure they are deer proof the only thing I know about this plant is that you shouldn't take it - as it is poisonous. I live in a city so deer don't come here, swans and other birds do but no deer - oh I would love to see one herd ^ ^!
Women are like a flower, flower like a woman :D
Nice
@steemvest17 lol
Here, we use LOL as "Bahahahhah". :D