Out in the garden, I found this poppy bud just bursting, it looks like it's got a hat on.
I was never a lover of poppies in the past but that's changed over recent years, I'm not totally sure why but I think it may be because they're such lovely flowers for brightening up the garden.
This is oriental poppy Brilliant, and it does indeed put on a brilliant display.
They make such good photographic subjects too.
How about you, do you like poppies or not, and which are your favourite varieties?
Poppies are gorgeous. We have one called Patty's Plum in our garden, but I do not think it is actually Patty's Plum which is a smoky plummy pink, but that the label might've been changed in the garden centre. However, it's a pretty poppy nonetheless. My late mother had lovely large pink Oriental poppies in her garden, they self-seeded and popped up all over the place. I wish Patty's Plum would do that for me!
ReplyDeleteMargaret P
It's annoying when plants are mislabelled in the garden centre, such a shame that you didn't get your Patty's Plum as it's a beautiful poppy but glad you're happy with the one you did get anyway.
DeleteI like poppies. They take me back to childhood. My best friend's family used to have lots of them in their garden. You've captured them beautifully. X
ReplyDeleteIt's funny how certain flowers can evoke memories. For me it's pansies, I remember them growing in a neighbour's garden when I was a child.
DeleteGlad you are starting to feel better, these things can linger on.
ReplyDeleteYes I like poppies but don't have any in the garden, perhaps something to think about for next year. funny how our tastes change over time.
There's always new plants I'd like to have in the garden, I just with I had more space. There's a few plants I like which have grown on me over the years, roses are something else I really like now which I didn't before.
DeleteDear Jo
ReplyDeleteNot many plants can beat a poppy when it's flowering,(perhaps a peony) as it is such a diva plant. My favourite is 'Checkers' which I grew from seed and seems to come back reliably despite the rubbish soil it is planted in. It has white petals and purply/black blotches. Your poppies are amazing!
Best wishes
Ellie
I haven't seen Checkers before but I've just looked it up and it's a stunner, I can see why it's your favourite.
DeleteThey don't look real do they. Bright and cheerful though. I love them, there's so many different types but a big field full would be wonderful.
ReplyDeleteThey don't. I think the only problem with them is that the flowers don't last long enough, though an established plant will produce plenty so you do get lots of colour.
DeleteAren't they beautiful. We have some pale pink ones growing on the path outside a house three doors away. I'm keeping a look out to steel the seed head when they've finished flowering.
ReplyDeleteThey're very beautiful. The great thing about poppies is that they're easy to propagate from seed so you only need one seed head and it'll give you lots of lovely plants. Mick's auntie has asked that I keep one of these seed heads for her, which I'm more than happy to do.
DeleteHi Jo, I'm just catching up. I'm sorry to hear about your illness. I hope you feel better soon. I didn't like poppies until fairly recently either, but now I find them very cheerful. I always remember some bedsheets my grandmother had with wildflowers printed on them, including poppies. They were so pretty and I wish I had them now. I think California poppies are my favorite kind.
ReplyDeleteThank you. I think I'm on the mend now, though it's still so hard to get a night's sleep with this cough. I like California poppies too, they have such a lovely depth of colour. They sometimes appear self sown in my garden but there aren't any at the moment, I do have lots of Welsh poppies though which I never planted.
DeleteBeautiful photographs, such vibrant colours. Glad to hear you are on the mend. Take care.
ReplyDeleteIt's such a lovely splash of colour in the garden, especially on dull days like today.
DeleteI hope you're feeling better?
ReplyDeleteI love poppies but my farmer spouse says they're weeds and isn't keen on me having them in the garden. They are quite delicate though and we are open to the elements here so maybe they wouldn't last long in our garden anyway? There are some very pretty varieties but you can't beat the traditional poppy in my eyes.
I'm certainly on the mend now but still not brilliant, I hope it's not much longer now until I start to feel well again. They say a weed is just a flower in the wrong place and I can see how that could be applied to poppies as I had them popping up in the middle of my potato bed when I had the allotment. I didn't mind though, they added some colour to the green bed.
DeleteI do like puppies and we have some on our allotment plot. I don't know what variety they are as I grew them from seed. The only trouble is that when they die down after flowering they leave such a gap in the border.
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean, they're such big plants so they're bound to leave a gap once they die down. I used to get them popping up on the allotment but I didn't plant them there.
DeleteI do love poppies. We had loads in our previous garden - mostly self-seeded - but none in this garden. I really should do something about that!
ReplyDeleteThey're great if you want to add lots of colour to the garden and there's some fabulous varieties to choose from.
DeleteI love poppies, beautiful flowers. I have some Californian poppies I've grown from seed in the garden, not flowering yet xx
ReplyDeleteCalifornian poppies are lovely, more understated than the big blousy orientals but they still give that wonderful pop of colour.
DeleteMy favourite is the camellia, all that lovely shiny green foliage all year round and such amazing blooms in the springtime. I do like a nice poppy, bog standard orangey/red ones for me give that wow factor to any garden or roadside grass verge.
ReplyDeleteHope you continue to improve with each passing day.
x
I've never grown camellias but agree that they look amazing when they bloom. Poppies self seed so readily that they pop up all over the place, including verges as you say, and I think they look fabulous when they're growing this way.
DeleteSounds as though the worst may be over, especially if you've been able to snap some pics in the garden & the motivation is coming back to be "doing" things. Just make sure you don't overdo anything till you are really 100%. The poppy certainly has some zing & I also love the one called Patty's Plum. Take care & huggles too.
ReplyDeleteThe garden is the only place I've managed in nearly two weeks, it'll be a fortnight on Thursday since I've seen my mum and dad, though Mick's been popping in to do bits for them. I still don't feel able to venture that far but I'm sure it won't be long now. Poppies certainly do have zing, they give some wonderful pops of colour in the garden.
DeleteLove poppies - this is my 2nd year sowing annual poppies which are orange and just so lovely. They are tiny, however, compared to the oriental varieties.
ReplyDeleteI do have a poppy plant that my kids gave me years ago on mothers day - it was planted by our front walkway and has never bloomed, likely because it's too shady there. Every year it comes back and every year I vow to move it to a sunnier spot...and then forget all about it. One of these days I'll remember to move it and then I'll finally get to see what the blooms look like!
I'm glad you are feeling at least a bit better - hopefully you'll be back to normal before long.
I've never grown poppies from seed, I bought this plant from a garden centre, it was very cheap and has certainly been worth what I paid for it. What a shame that your Mother's Day poppy hasn't bloomed yet, I'm sure it's just waiting for the right conditions. Daniel bought me a rose one Mother's Day and that didn't really thrive until the last couple of years, it took it's time to get established. Thank you, it's certainly a tough virus that I've picked up, I'm just hoping that it doesn't last too much longer now.
DeleteI hope that you feel better soon. Lovely pictures. I like poppies but don't really have space to grow them en masse as I would like to. I usually have a few annual ones appear on the most years. xx
ReplyDeleteThank you. I agree that poppies look wonderful en masse and you do need plenty of space to do that. I think they look fabulous self sown in the wild, Mother Nature knows best.
DeleteI love poppies their petals are so delicate and beautiful, plus the stunning colours
ReplyDeleteI love how their petals unfurl, all crumpled looking at first and then they straighten out and look like silk.
DeleteThe poppies are stunning. Hope you feel perfect very soon.
ReplyDeleteThank you, I'm definitely on the road to recovery now.
DeleteI love poppies they are one of my favourite flowers, they are also a great subject to paint.
ReplyDeleteI think many people feel the same way about painting them, they've been the subject of many a lovely artwork.
DeleteWOW! No words to express the beauty of the flower. Take care of your health...
ReplyDeleteIt's a beautiful flower, lovely to have in the garden.
DeleteBeautiful flower! I love poppies I have Californian poppies that come each year but other varieties won't grow in my garden. Hope you're feeling better. :) x
ReplyDeleteWhat a shame that you can't get poppies to grow in your garden, I think they like poor soil so perhaps your ground is in too good a condition for them.
DeletePleased to read you are slowly on the mend, these viruses can be quite nasty.
ReplyDeleteI love, love, love poppies and so enjoyed looking at your colourful ones here.
All the best Jan
I'm feeling much better now, thank you. I'm usually lucky and can avoid most viruses but this one certainly took hold.
DeleteStunners, each and every one. How wonderful to have them in your garden brightening up every day.
ReplyDeleteLisa x
The only problem with poppies is that they don't last long enough, but they're beautiful whilst they're here.
DeleteJust love, love love your photo of the poppy with its hat on! So glad to hear you are now on the mend!xxx
ReplyDeleteIt's amazing how quickly flowers emerge once they start to unravel from their bud. I'm just about well again now, though I've still got a bit of a cough all this time later, it's been a hard one to shift.
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