I always know it is truly spring when the California poppies bloom

The California poppy is a wildflower that is also the California state flower. I remember first becoming aware of its significance when I was six years old. When I first discovered them, I wanted to pick the flowers so badly. But my mom warned me that it was a special flower that shouldn't be picked if it's within a certain distance from the roadside, because it is the symbol of the state of California. She also wisely explained to me that after I picked one, the flower wouldn't last long and it was better to leave it growing where it was. It was one of the first of many flowers I learned how to enjoy without picking it and taking it home with me.

Now, with my digital camera (or camera-phone) I can "pick" flowers in a different way. I can take the image of a flower home with me and leave the lovely flower behind growing where I found it. This is particularly important when it comes to delicate wildflowers like the California poppy.

Ashley at ProFlowers.com reached out to me and

gave me a heads-up that there's a new post on their blog

giving great tips on how to photograph flowers with your mobile phone 

Click here to head on over there and read more

We have poppy seeds!

Do you remember the wonderful Hungarian Bread Seed Poppy that bloomed on the first day of spring? I've been anxiously anticipating the time when that seed pod would be dried up enough to harvest. And today was the day!



I carefully brought it inside and slit the side open with a kitchen knife to spill out the seeds. Look at how many were in just one pod!

I then took the seeds and carefully poured them into a small seasoning shaker that I'd labeled appropriately. Hubby is a big poppy seed fan so these seeds are for him. When he saw them his first comment was, "Anyone have a bagel?"



The first poppy bloom was the earliest of many flowers that followed weeks later and have been delighting us for the past month. Now I'm on "pod watch" as I wait for the rest of the pods to dry. At least one of the pods will be emptied into a seed envelope for planting next year. But the rest will end up seasoning breads and salads.

California Poppy

Every spring, these wonderful perennials pop up in my front garden. Sometimes they pop up in the place where they were last year as a true perennial growing from last year's roots. Because poppies are excellent at reseeding themselves, sometimes they surprise me by popping up in new places that they haven't been before.

The serendipity of discovering new feathery poppy seedlings is always a treat for me in the spring. I see their little green leaves begin to come forth after we've had the winter rains of December and January. By February, they're beginning to make themselves known. But I have to wait until April to see their gorgeous brilliant blossoms. More often than not, I'm a bit impatient for them to bloom, so that when they finally do bloom I am dying with anticipation. Who knew that gardening would be so much like Christmas morning when I was a kid?

California Poppy

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Used the Vintage Film Photoshop Action by By_Fallout75
Used my free texture Cracked concrete with moss

I know spring has truly arrived when the first California poppy blooms in our garden. Ours bloom a little later than the wild ones on the hillsides. I think the hillsides get more sun than our front garden does. When I see swathes of brilliant orange on the green hills, I know that it won't be long before I see the same fantastic color along my front walk.

On Sundays, I like to walk my garden. I don't work in the garden on Sundays (it's a day of rest), but I still want to be in my "natural habitat". So I'll usually go out and walk the paths with camera in hand, looking for what's new. I'll eventually settle into a chair somewhere and watch the world go by with the internal permission that I don't have to do one garden chore no matter what I notice needs doing.

The highlight of yesterday's Sunday walk was the California poppy that had just bloomed. We had cleaned out the garage on Friday in preparation for some work to be done and had dragged a sheet of sheet rock out onto the front walk until the work had been completed. It was still there on Sunday when I noticed that it made the perfect aqua green backdrop for the poppies. So I bent down and snapped away.

Later, I added a vintage feel and a texture in post-production. I can't quite describe how the end result makes me feel. Every time I look at it, I feel like I'm transported back to being 6 years old when I first discovered the California state flower on a visit to my Grammy's house. It as then that I made a special mental note to never pick one within sight of the roadside. I've never forgotten that ever since.

A surprise on the first day of Spring

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As if to herald the first official day of spring, the first Hungarian Bread Seed Poppy bloomed this morning!

I planted these from seed back in the autumn (along with parsley, lettuces, scallions, snap peas, and other winter veggies) in the raised planter bed I relocated to the front garden. The lettuce has all been harvested and so have the scallions. The Italian flat leaf parsley called "Gigante" is living up to its name on one end of the bed.

And up against parsley, these poppies have been growing, and growing, and GROWING! The plants are huge! But there haven't been any signs of buds all winter (even though most Oriental and Iceland poppies are a winter flower around here). I was very anxious to see what the poppy would look like because I've never grown these before. I had no idea there would be such a rich purple in the center of this large poppy blossom.

And so, instead of being the winter-bloomer I had planned, the Hungarian Bread Seed Poppy has joined the rest of the lovely blooms in the Rosehaven Cottage gardens to welcome the first day of spring!

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The Miracle of the "Elsie Poppies"

If you haven't read the post
"The Poppy Seed Experiment",

reading it first will provide the context for the following post.

Click here to go directly to

"The Poppy Seed Experiment"

Left: The packet of Shirley Poppy seeds that were dated for the growing season in 1970.







After sowing the seeds from the above packet back in February, and subsequently writing about them and their significance, I have waited and waited to see if the seeds would grow. I had already determined that if they did grow and bloom, I would dub them "Elsie Poppies" after my Grammy (the original owner of the seed packet).

In our region of the U.S., seeds can go in very early in the year since we usually don't have frost after the last of February or early March. Poppies are really happy in our climate if they're given an extra headstart, so that's why the seeds went into the ground in late February. That way they would get the benefit of the spring rains to help them germinate.

I watched and watched the bed where I'd sown the seeds. Soon I saw little sprouts coming up that looked like they might be poppy seedlings. I couldn't be sure if they were the Shirley Poppies though because there was a chance that they could be Red Oriental Poppies or some other volunteer poppy from others I've had in the garden previously. I realized that I would just have to wait until each plant actually bloomed to see if they were indeed Shirley Poppies. If they had a black center, then they were Red Oriental Poppies. If they didn't, then they were Shirley Poppies.

So I watched and watched some more. Finally, last week they started to bloom! I have hesitated to post. Why? Because none of them had black centers and I'm still in awe. They all had light centers! They are Shirley Poppies... ahem... "Elsie Poppies"!

There are some things in life that can only be classified as miraculous. I count this as one of them. Seeds that were 38 years old sown into the ground still remembering their purpose and mission is a miracle to me. Somehow inside those tiny black specks were the instructions that made these beautiful blooms possible.

What is more miraculous for me is that these seeds were purchased by my Grammy. She had hoped to put them into the ground and see their lovely blooms so many years ago. But instead, the seeds weren't sown until 38 years later, and now I am enjoying the blooms that my Grammy would have seen had she planted them. There is a poignancy to this reality that I can't quite find the words to express. The only word I can use is "miracle".

And so, I share with you the "Elsie Poppies" from my garden. They are small, but they are beautiful. And they are really here! And you can bet that I'm definitely collecting the seeds from these precious blooms.

The Poppy Seed Experiment

Recently, my mom was going through her boxes in storage and came across some seed packets that she had forgotten about.

The seed packets were originally purchased by my Grammy. Grammy passed away from ovarian cancer at the young age of 64 in the spring of 1977. The illness took her quicker than anticipated. I was very close to her and felt a deep kinship with her. Her very quick exit from this life left a void in my life and in my heart that still causes me to mourn.

When Grammy's three daughters went through her things after her death, my mom brought Grammy's seed packets home with her. The seeds were never planted--probably unconsciously left in storage as a way to somehow hold on to the garden and flowers that were an extension of who she was.

Aside from looking a lot like her and having similar personality traits, my connections with Grammy were many (which is why I miss her so deeply), but none seem so strong as the gardening connections I have with her. Grammy's garden was where I came to love my favorite flower--the lilac. It was also where I photographed my first hollyhock. And it was where I tasted chives for the first time. I learned to love the smell of hay at Grammy's house. And I developed my affinity for the look and smell of bearded iris there. Because of my special connection to Grammy and her garden, when my mom came across the seeds a month or two ago she passed them on to me.

The newly discovered seed packets alone are a treasure for me. The graphics and typefaces take me back to my childhood. When I flipped over this packet of Shirley Poppy seeds it said that it was packaged for the growing season of 1970! But I also noted on the front that the packet touts that the seeds are "foil packed".

Yesterday, I finally got up the nerve to plant the 38 year old seeds. Poppies do well in our soil and are best if the seeds are sown right about now. So after I completed the planting of the new roses, I snipped open the foil packet within this seed packet to sow them. The seeds had obviously stayed dry because there wasn't any clumping. I sprinkled them around with my new seed sowing trowel that vibrates the seeds through a tiny hole for even dispersing.

Now I'm going to just sit back and wait to see if seeds this old can germinate. If I'm successful with these, I'm going to try out the other various seeds I also acquired from my mom.

Somehow, I'm hoping that my sweet Grammy will angelically kiss the seeds to make them grow. If they do then the Shirley poppies will be dubbed "Elsie poppies". I will definitely be keeping everyone apprised of the "Poppy Seed Experiment".