Poppy's & Chives

This is the time for poppies at Pinehaven and the lovely salmon pink poppy we have growing in the front flower bed is as unusual a color as any flower I have seen. It's a delicate pink with a tinge of salmon to it and so light and delicate you can almost see through the petal. Every year when it blooms I am in awe of its inspiring display. If it has a shortcoming, it's that it is short-lived. It lasts a day or two at best and if it rains or the wind blows too hard it is doomed before it begins.


A wider view of the plant shows how special it is. A compact plant with none of the garrish orange of the standard poppy, this is as delicate as petals come.

So, too, at the corner of the garden, the chives have gone to flower. We've clipped plenty of the thin leaves for salads but there comes a point late in the season when the plant wants to bloom. You can see how quickly the flower heads form. Better at this point to let it go, let is give its purple show. The contrast between the globe-shaped lavendar flowers and thin green leaves is almost stark. I enjoy these in my salads, but I equally enjoy the display the flowers make. We give time for each.

Again, a closer look exhibits the fine color and the intricacy of the flower heads.