Pasque Flower (Pulsatilla)
Several years ago I bought some Pulsatillas, commonly called Pasque Flowers, from a roadside stall. They were planted and promptly forgotten - until this spring.
Pulsatilla Vulgaris
These flowers would probably be suited to a rockery (I've got a rockery of sorts - perhaps I should shift them in). Their leaves are delicate and fern-like, and quite hairy. The flowers are quite big, in proportion to the rest of the plant.
For now my Pasque flowers are planted on a path's edge in one of the gardens over the water race. They could easily be forgotten and completely missed in the rampant flush of spring greenery in the garden.
I've checked with my garden reference book and these look exactly like Pulsatilla Vulgaris. There's nothing vulgar about these beautiful spring flowers!