A present from the wind and birds
Posted by Fiona Nevile in General care | 10 comments
Sometimes it’s easy to be distracted by borders that have taken years to mature and miss the dazzling surprise of unplanned flowers.
Particularly those wild flowers that have quietly self seeded. Suddenly they are standing before you, like clear eyed children that have stepped out of the shadows to surprise you.
I found this opium poppy in the broad bean border this morning. I hadn’t even noticed that it was growing there. There was something about its fresh transient beauty that made my heart turn over.
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Hi Christina
Three flowers have opened on this poppy and each one had been a delight.
Oh, it is lovely! Just gorgeous.
Hi Pat
I bet that they were planted by the birds!
Hello Scintilla
I’m in excatly the same position over the foxgloves. Last night I hardened my heart and heaved them out to make way for a row of salad leaves.
It’s all the opium poppies fault! Each year they self seed from the compost into the vegetable garden. Each year I put off planting the runner beans because I can’t harden my heart and pull them out !
I have heaps of tomato plants and a stray lettuce plant in our wall planter of busy lizzies. LOL
Hi Belinda
It only lasted for two days! Part of the beauty I suppose…
Hi Kate(UK)
That’s a great idea. I think that I’ll try scattering the seed of the better ones. Usually I just leave the seed scattering to the birds.
Hi Lynn
The parsley root is going great guns after a slow start!
Hi Pat
I leave most too. We have loads of mullein and foxgloves this year.
Very pretty. I always leave volunteers to grow. They usually turn out better than what I would have planted. 🙂
It’s like a present from God. Beautiful.
Has your parsley root grown for you? I actually found some at a garden center and have it growing in a window box!
When we moved here four years ago there were lots of rather promising looking opium poppies in one of the flower beds amongst the extremely unpromising weeds. They were really juicy looking plants, but when they bloomed the flowers were really disappointing, tiny,nasty shade of pink, four tatty petals….but the strongest plant I kept and spread the seed….the next year I had strong plants again, but this time,proper large petals. Last year some singles, some doubles. Each year I allow the strongest and prettiest plants to seed, save the seed,mix it up and just throw it about and see what comes up, being ruthless weeding out feeble seedlings. This year I have some beautiful dark dirty purple singles with pale stamens in the front garden and some spectacularly large salmon pink frilly pom poms in the back and more plants have yet to flower- great fun and the results do indeed make the heart turn- and they get bumble bees very excited indeed!
I know why it made your heart turn over, Absolutely stunning.