About twenty years ago, I came back from a visit to the nursery at Great Dixter with several new plants (inevitably) and discovered that an additional plant had made its way into a pot.

The telltale bronze leaves of Ranunculus ‘Brazen Hussy’ appeared alongside the new plant and, when the sun shone, its bright yellow flowers shone too as if to reinforce the fact that spring had arrived.

The flowers of this little member of the buttercup family only open in sunshine and close up in dull weather. However, its attractive bronze foliage saves the day and creates a stunning contrast when the flowers are open. This is a plant that could be called invasive, but for a limited period only. It forms low growing (10cm) swathes of ground cover in early spring then, just as you think it has taken over, it disappears as suddenly as it emerged being summer dormant in habit. So, don’t panic if the combination of yellow and bronze doesn’t fit in with the summer perennials as it will soon be gone.

Christopher Lloyd found this unique celandine growing in a wood near Great Dixter so I’ve always thought it appropriate that my original plant should have hitched a ride from his nursery.