"A garden is a grand teacher. It teaches patience and careful
watchfulness; it teaches industry and thrift; above all it teaches
entire trust." (Gertrude Jekyll)
Some of you will recognise this as a favourite quotation of mine. I do believe that it is true, though there are some who would look at it and say that I am not a patient person. In truth I am not always patient, in regards to some things I am very impatient, but when it comes to my garden I have found remarkable patience, almost to an unbelievable extent.
I give you exhibit (a)
Now it is fair to say that I do like poppies. I like many different types of poppies and it is hard for me to actually choose a favourite type. They all have their reasons to be the best sort there is, so I refuse to choose an all time number 1. In the top ten, however, there will always be the Papaver Orientale.
They are big, they are everything on a large scale. They are clearly a type of poppy they have all the resemblances that the family has, but just that little bit more. They also have the joy of being perennial so they come back, year on year, looking the same but a bit bulkier than the year before.
and they unfurl beautifully. Suddenly the buds are there and slowly, slowly they start to open, looking like they will suddenly pop.
Which they do, they pop into what can only be described as a handful of crumpled silk. Its like a clean hanky you have just scrunched up and you are allowing to unfurl.
Yes oriental poppies are special.
Hang on a minute I hear you say, what has this to do with patience? Well I have said that it can take a few days for the flowers to open and actually at that point I am fairly impatient, I want to see its majesty.
No, this specific plant is patience personified as it was grown from a root cutting taken in 2011 whilst at a propagation workshop at Swines Meadow Farm Nursery. I have nurtured this root cutting and it has now delivered this beautiful poppy. It has the dual qualities of being beautiful and a plant that was propagated by me. What is not to love?
Some of you will recognise this as a favourite quotation of mine. I do believe that it is true, though there are some who would look at it and say that I am not a patient person. In truth I am not always patient, in regards to some things I am very impatient, but when it comes to my garden I have found remarkable patience, almost to an unbelievable extent.
I give you exhibit (a)
Hang on a minute I hear you say, what has this to do with patience? Well I have said that it can take a few days for the flowers to open and actually at that point I am fairly impatient, I want to see its majesty.
No, this specific plant is patience personified as it was grown from a root cutting taken in 2011 whilst at a propagation workshop at Swines Meadow Farm Nursery. I have nurtured this root cutting and it has now delivered this beautiful poppy. It has the dual qualities of being beautiful and a plant that was propagated by me. What is not to love?
That is patient! Well done growing it from a root cutting, I have never tried it but once moving an oriental poppy, I had loads more a couple of years later, in the place I had moved it from!
ReplyDeleteThanks, I moved a euphorbia last year and it's still growing in the original place as well as the new place, I like happy accidents :)
DeleteWhat's not to love indeed - I was weeding in my front garden this morning and spotted what looks very much like an oriental poppy, I immediately had to look up how to propagate them. They will be my first root cuttings - but I will wait until I see the colour. I a now really looking forward to the whole sequence of opening!
ReplyDeleteThanks - hope your cuttings take :)
Delete