MICHAEL Myers gave the last talk of the season to members of Wharfedale Gardeners' Group on May 14 focussing on the large buttercup family.

We see these optimistic and cheerful plants blooming regularly in the wild but they can be hybridised to produce some sparkling displays of colours and forms. The more common varieties are affordable from UK growers such as John Massey at Ashwood Nurseries in the Midlands.

The Aconites love nothing more than damp conditions, right from the moment it produces seed, so it is essential never to let the seeds dry out. Planting them in fresh moist, sandy soil will ensure you have many more blooms to spread around the garden. Some, like ‘Hafod’ and ‘Noel Ayres’, have what appear to be semi-double blooms but are more often a layer of larger sepals creating the rosette look.

The Hepatica group are mostly found in mountainous areas like the Pyrenees. ‘Stained Glass’ with its mottled leaves just shows how the plants are often prized for their leaf shape, colour and patination as much as their flowers. A favourite location for Michael is Transylvania. In the shadow of Dracula’s Castle, the dark blue Hepatica transsilvanica can be found growing in the wild, and yes, Michael has been there to see it in person!

Hepatica are also found in North America, Korea, Japan, Pakistan and China. Hepatica maxima, from China, is known as the ‘panda seed’, it having a rare black and white colouration. Hybridising different varieties produces some astonishing colours and habits, no wonder collectors will travel far and wide to gain seeds from new plants.

The Lenten and Christmas Rose hellebores are a common sight in many gardens. Many more varieties are available with veined and bi-coloured leaves, semi-doubles and now in yellow. Michael recommends that, to keep the flowers blooming repeatedly, we need to cut away the leaves so that the lowered heads of the flowers can be appreciated.

Although we expect the members of the celandine family to be yellow, growers can produce varieties that are almost white, some with silvery leaves others with green bracts like ‘Ficaria ‘Yaffle”, named after the West Country green woodpecker. A rare pale pink specimen Ranunculus calandrinioides, comes from the Atlas Mountains in Morocco.

Michael brought along some of the plants he had grown himself in his own garden ‘Fairiew’. Lovingly nurtured to withstand the Yorkshire climate, our purchases will remind us of this rich and fascinating talk.