Who Stole The Show In My Garden?

In my garden this year a Poppy stole the show. The only other year when I had such a prominent display of poppies was 2005.

That's when I took the picture of our pup sniffing poppies which highlights my blog. The poppy seeds were scattered on the perennial bed in 2004, the very first year of my garden. The plants self-seeded, and this is what I got:

The lesson I learned that year: if not thinned, gray mold and root rot start. However, if you thin them too well, there won't be such a mass of color!
These red poppies would seed again, but I pulled out the plants before going on a long trip.
This year, in June, purple oriental poppies screamed for attention.

It might be "Manhattan", but the color on the label is dark-rose.

I also had an Oriental poppy that stopped blooming after I moved it to a different location. It emerges every year, has nice foliage, but no flowers. I'll move it to the previous spot and see if it will thank me for that.
Later, came these watermelon red flowers. These are the seeds I sent to some blotanists together with the foxglove seeds.



These poppies were on My Picture Of The Day " Three Stages Of Life":

I got the seeds for this variety from an Orcas Island gardener.

FYI, Orcas Island is one of the major San-Juan Islands located between Washington and Canada. In 2007, we traveled there and got lucky since it was time for their annual garden tour! I talked to the owner/gardener, and he was kind to send me some seeds!

I like plants with a story behind them. They bring warm and grateful memories of the people who shared part of their gardens with me.
These are some pictures from our Orcas Island garden tour:

Do you know what is this plant with large variegated, almost white, leaves in the center of the picture below?

This is variagated horseradish. I tried to find this plant in nurseries and garden centers, but most of the people have never heard of it. Well, maybe it's good that I didn't find it, since horseradish left undisturbed in the garden spreads via underground shoots and can become invasive.

I love these tall poppies with pink flowers . Aren't they lovely?


Growing poppies, I try to remember the following:

- they don't like to be overwatered;-soil should be well-drained;

- seedlings don't like to be transplanted;

- in severe winters, plants should be protected with mulch in fall;

- plants go dormant in late summer, so markers are useful to avoid disturbing area;

- it is recommended to combine poppies with plants like Gypsophila paniculata to conceal the dying foliage in summer;

- full sun or light shade is preferred;
- the seeds of the poppy have great nutritive value.

I hope the seeds of the plants from Orcas Island will do well in your gardens,

and you can share them with your friends!