A Gardener's Diary

I love poppies. A large expanse of poppies would be exquisite. The red poppies that take over the field adjacent to the walls of St. Paul Asylum in Saint Remy-de-Provence where Van Gogh stayed are gorgeous…and legendary.

But the problem for me is two-fold:

1. The bloom time — extremely short

2. I’m cursed when it comes to poppies. Every time I get a poppy that is ready to unfurl, or actually opens, it is hit by inclement weather. Blooms…gone.

Take this year for example. I have one poppy in a flower bed and this year it is actually blooming (none last year), with four more buds to go. I’ve had two days with it — watching it open and standing proudly over the tops of its boxwood backdrop.

What’s coming? Tropical Storm Cristobal! Not in over 100 years has a tropical storm that touched landfall where it did — Louisiana, made its way up the Mississippi Valley and run into us. They always track east and dissipate over the ocean. Until now. So, I invite you to enjoy these pictures of my one lone poppy before…the storm.

I have enjoyed keeping an eye on this flower. Although short lived, it reminds me how each and every plant can give joy. Now I can only hope that the other buds stay closed until Cristobal passes.

#poppy #poppies #nature #gardening