Breadseed poppy season has properly arrived!

Here in the Pacific Northwest it tends to start in late June, and then continue intermittently for a month or so.

This is the umpty-ninth descendent of a Lauren’s Purple. I think the color is still pretty true… it’s a gorgeous burgundy.

Feverfew in the background.

Here is the poppy bed. Here in the Puget Sound area, I usually sprinkle out the poppy seeds in January of February. They sprout in a few weeks, then sit and do nothing for a couple months. It gives them a stronger start, though.

The one catch is that the slugs like them. No red frillies this year, for that reason…

I usually do two beds of poppies, one of the red frillies and one of the purples. For some reason the slug pressure on the reds was very high this year, and I wasn’t on top of dealing with it. Next year I will take measures early and thoroughly!

Breadseed poppies close up at night! Usually just for one night, but still, they have the mechanism.

They can’t re-pack themselves the way they were in the bud, but they close each pair of lips as much as they can (they usually have four symmetrical petals). The inner pair basically acts like a clamshell!

Genetics are always fun!

The cut edge on this one came by way of the cut-edged reds that I usually grow.

It also only has three petals, which is a straight-up mutation. 

Here they are, a side-shot all closed up for the evening. It’s a good thing, because we got a little rain!

Possibly the last for weeks, so every drop is precious. 

Breadseed poppies are fun, and if you can allow the seedheads to develop, you can use them for baking! Plus, the seedheads look cool.

Give them a whirl!

It is time for the late-spring flower update.

Every year I try some new seeds, or try to improve on what has gone before.

Here we have Schizanthus, California Bluebells, and Gilia Tricolor.

I planted all three species in large pots outside on March 1st, just as the weather started to tilt towards spring. The pots have copper tape around them, since we have a lot of slugs, and our slugs like almost all types of flower babies.

I used large (~12″) pots, and did a cluster of seeds in the center, and three clusters equally spaced around the edge. I did not thin — I think these species really didn’t need it (with the possible exception of the Schizanthus).

The Gilia Tricolor was the first to bloom, opening a few flowers in late May. 

The pollinators like it!

I think it’s starting to fade — it’s basically a California wildflower, so a relatively short bloom season is to be expected, but it has been a lovely addition to the mid-spring garden.

It has a naturally cascading habit. Next year I think I’ll do a bit more in the way of supports, but it doesn’t break when it bends over.

The California bluebells opened a week or so later, at the start of June.

I had grown them before, but previously I had started them indoors and transplanted them. They did much better direct-sown into their big pot!

Their color is amazing. They really are that blue!

They are still going strong, but I don’t expect them to make it far into July. They are another wildflower that really hasn’t seen any hybridization.

They also have a cascading habit. Some short supports will help control and spread the cascade. I might try a couple more vertical supports for the central cluster next year, to see if I can make more of a mound, but they are lovely as-is.

The Schizanthus were the last of the three to open, starting just after the CA bluebells. 

I should have staked the Schizanthus early and vigorously; they want to be vertical, and they snap under their own weight when it rains.

The flowers are quite pretty; the common name is “Poor Man’s Orchid.”

I think this one has been hybridized more. We’ll see what the bloom span is like.

So far, the three make good friends, since their bloom period and color range overlap nicely.

Two of the three are basically CA wildflowers, so I expect them to finish fairly soon. Hopefully the Schizanthus will continue into the summer!

I think I’ll grow all three again next year, but with a lot more staking for the Schizanthus.

This year I did one pot of each; next year I’ll multiple the California Bluebells and Gilia Tricolor. They are very pretty at a time when not much is blooming here.