bloodroot

I first saw the single flower form of bloodroot at a botanical garden in British Columbia, and had to grow it. Aside from the name, I was fascinated by the leaves, which looked like butterflies or like pelvic bones, depending on the particular leaf or perhaps on my mood. I planted the double form (Sanguinaria canadensis 'Multiplex') two springs ago, and this is the first year it has flowered. I'm hoping it makes a nice colony, because I love it. The flower was tiny (about an inch in diameter) but amazingly beautiful, and I love the way the leaf hugs and shelters the flower bud as it emerges from the ground. Here are a series of photos to illustrate: