I do enjoy spring ephemerals. They’re the sort of things that we could never grow when I lived in California because the springs were never cool enough. During most summers here in Finland, they’ll stick around at least until midsummer.

This is Anemone sylvestris (arovuokko), the snowdrop anemone. Not to be confused with the wood anemone, which we also have. This species has larger flowers and is mostly a garden resident. They also have much longer stems than their wild cousins, making them great for little bouquets. They flower so prolifically that I don’t feel at all guilty about grabbing a handful to keep inside.

Our little patch was planted by the previous owners, but I didn’t discover it until a few years ago because it grew on the side of the property that always gets a bit overgrown and difficult to manage. Once I do get that bit of the garden cleaned up, I’d like to put in a few other varieties of anemones for contrast. A whole pastel rainbow of them every spring would be gorgeous.

Final count:

• Anemone sylvestris – one small but progressively growing patch