One of the delights of June (albeit early this year, as we've discussed in previous posts) is the Oriental poppy. Actually, I love all poppies; Oriental, Iceland, Shirley, what have you - but the most striking are the Orientals. Big, sometimes gaudy, always striking, the show they put on at this time of year makes me forgive their utter lack of usefulness the rest of the season. Matter of fact, in the interval between the end of their blooming and the disappearance of their tatty foliage, they're downright ugly. For now, though, all is forgiven for my 'Waterbabies' are blooming their fool heads off.
'Waterbabies' is a strain that I purchased from White Flower Farm a good 10 years ago, and sadly they no longer carry it. They come in an astonishing array of shades: watermelon-colored, carnation pink, pale grape, a deep, almost wine color. They're totally unlike any other strain I can think of, and I wish to goodness they were still available! Six years ago, we had our patio and a pergola installed, and all the plants in the bed where the pergola was going had to be moved. Now, most gardening books and authorities will warn you that any attempt to transplant an Oriental poppy with its monstrous taproot will only create much wailing and gnashing of teeth, ending in the loss of said poppy, so it was with great trepidation that I dug the 'Waterbabies' up and potted them. I held my breath that whole summer, because of course the foliage wouldn't reappear until autumn. You can imagine my jubilation when I saw the new leaves start popping up in the pots, because by then they'd disappeared from the WWF catalog, so if I lost these, I was SOL. They then went back into the bed under the new pergola, and they've been thriving there ever since. I think this year I'll try to save some seed to start next winter, because nothing lasts forever, and June simply wouldn't be June without my "babies"!
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