Not content to fade to muted tones of green after the riot of colour provided by The Tulips, my garden has moved into the stage I call “Shouting”. This phase is led by the Oriental Poppy – Papaver oriental – a perennial plant that puts out deep orange blooms that are about 5 inches across! Quiet and subtle – NOT! Held high above their hairy green leaves, these blooms will last only a few days. Once finished, the poppy plant leaves will wither and die, rebounding in the early fall with another flush of green, and perhaps even a bloom or two.
Speaking of shouting, I saw this quote somewhere, and it seemed an appropriate one to pass on to all gardeners who are mothers:
I will not have a temper tantrum,
Nor stomp across the floor.
I will not pout, scream or shout,
Or kick against the door.
I will not throw my food around, Nor pick upon another.
I will always try to be real good,
Because I am the mother!
Amazing photographs. thanks for sharing. (Loved the poem, also.)
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Hi Margie,
I didn’t realize the poppy lasted such a short time, what a shame, they are such beautiful flowers.
I love the quote you found, very good.
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Hi Mag – In perfect weather the blooms might last a week, but the wind and thunderstorms we have had makes them pretty ragged in just a few short days. Fortunately each of my plants will have several dozen flowers or more, and they don’t all bloom at once, so the poppy show will go on for several weeks!
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Wonderful pictures, nice to see them in sunlight… mine are almost completely destroyed by heavy rain.
Liked the quote too.
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Hi Bluevarnish – My poppies got drowned in a couple of sudden afternoon thunderstorms accompanied by winds. They don’t fare well in those conditions!
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Beautiful pictures as usual! I keep hoping to plant some poppy seeds among the rocks at our cabin. If they were to turn out anything like yours, they would sure add a lot of colour and interest!
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Hi Ev – I would imagine poppies would be a good choice for your location. I had an Iceland Poppy grow in a crack in my patio last year. There couldn’t have been more than a few tablespoons of soil there, yet the poppy bloomed all summer long. It got very little sunlight, and the only thing I had to do was make sure it didn’t completely dry out!
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