Adonis Aestivalis (Summer Pheasant's-Eye)

This superb annual has feathery foliage and a succession of brilliant blood-red flowers, making a delightful plant for the border. It grows well in any ordinary garden soil, but prefers a moist well-drained soil grown in sun or semi-shade. In olden times this scarce and beautiful European native was used as a medicinal and ornamental plant.