Saturday, May 30, 2009

Poppies For Jan

The other day I promised to post some of the breadbox poppies, because Jan had commented that poppies are one of her favorite flowers.
(mine too!)

These are all variants of the same flower type. At my parents home, we had single reds and also double pinks, and colors and shapes in between.

The coloring is so delicate, petals silky and just a hint of odor....something that is unexpected. I love the grey-green foliage, smooth and frosty, unlike other poppies stems and leaves.

Occasionally I get one like this that just overdoes itself.....WOW!
They come and go of their own accord; I never am sure if I will have them the following year. The need for light soil and exposure to the elements for the seed to germinate makes it an iffy process, especially living in the country where wind is far to vigorous. Away goes the seed.......
But sometimes, you just luck out!
Enjoy!

7 comments:

Tristan Robin said...

But attractive to the eye and soothing to the smell. Mwa-ha-ha-ha. Poppies. Poppies. Poppies will put them to sleep. Sle-ee-p. Now they'll sle-ee-p. ... sle-ee-p ...

gorgeous photos - what IS that ruffly poppy called?

Anne Huskey-Lockard said...

Okay Wicked witch of the West..... ;)
They are all in the breadbox poppy family. I am not sure what the latin name is for them, though I would suspect they are somewere in the Papaver Somniferum family.
And actually, the smaller red poppy in the first picture is the same seed as the big ruffled one. They seem to cross and that's why I never know what I'll end up with.
The seedpods are excellent for drying.

Jan said...

These are gorgeous! I've never seen a pompompoppy before, you could market those if you could get the seed. I have the Oriental poppies and they are perennial but of course different from yours. Oh and I have some California poppies too that reseed themselves. Maybe you could mail me a seed head some time of your breadbox poppies. I wonder where the name comes from? Lovely, thanks for sharing.

Anne Huskey-Lockard said...

The name comes from these being raised in Europe to save the seed to top loaves of bread. I think it is the same one used for poppyseed filling.
I will try sending you a sample of both types---well, whatever I get! With the climate there, you may have to refrigerate the seed for a while to get them to germinate. They do need the cold of winter to work. I've never had luck planting them in the Spring.
Do remind me you want some......
By the way, we are again without e-mail.....seems to be a weekend occurance and boy am I NOT happy.

Leslie said...

I am Dorothy and I want to sleep in a field with the Tin Man, The Cowardly Lion and The Scarecrow...

Beautiful pictures and I love the exploding one...

Anne Huskey-Lockard said...

I'm all for the sleeping too! Especially since I don't get enough of it......
Let's just all plant a whole bunch and then snooze..... ;)

peggy gatto said...

Glorious flowers!

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