This is a coquelicot (wild poppy) that sprang up out among the grape vines this spring. There are others here and there, but no great mass of them. I was hoping these would also come up in our north forty. Apparently, for poppy seeds to sprout, the soil where they are has to be disturbed. In this case, it was plowed to discourage weeds. In my yard, I did nothing. Ergo, no poppies for me.
I cut both the north and west forties (except for the meadow) on Tuesday morning. It was a little damp and slow going in spots. The mower left a lot of grass clumps behind. I'm going to try to get some of it up as it dries out. It makes good mulch for the garden and it's a good addition to the compost pile. The weather is expected to warm up some over the next few days.
The one lone poppy is a beauty. You'll have to be more disturbing next poppy season.
ReplyDeleteSounds like good progress is being made in your yard. Beautiful poppy.
ReplyDeleteBettyAnn
The whole poppy thing is surprising to me. That's a nice one, though :)
ReplyDeleteJudy
mitch, I can probably handle that.
ReplyDeletebettyann, yes! But, like painting the Golden Gate Bridge, once it's done it's time to start over.
judy, news to me as well. Live and learn!
At my parent's home, I have left the wild poppies when I trim the grass, and I haven't disturbed the soil even though each spring they reappear!
ReplyDelete