An Iowa Garden

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Ranunculus ficaria 'Brambling' rapidly puts out its leaves in the April sunshine. However there is something very odd, almost sinister in this little creeper raising its inky leaves out of the cold, wet earth into the bright days of early springtime. The leaves look somber, ancient and somehow weathered... almost funereal; not at all the type of leaf you'd expect in a brand spanking new spring plant. The leaves are triangular, with splashes of silver-gray with hints of plum, and a crow feather heart. Incongruously, when its flowers appear, they are bright, cheery buttercups of gold, riding just over its little dark sea of foliage. As if to show that it is, after all in a spring mood, its leaves gradually turn to mottled green before they disappear in summer until next year.



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