Poppies

When we moved in to our home, we found a few pictures of the gardens in full bloom. We haven’t been able to identify the photograph location of several of the photos, but one shows beautiful red-and-white poppies.

Another hint that we might someday see some beautiful paper-like flowers was hidden in the top of the barn — old signs the previous flower farm owner used to sell her flowers. The sign read “Dried Giant Poppy Pods. 5 for $1.00.”

So not knowing what poppies look like as they grow,  I was excited to see a little burst of bright red this week in the big round garden that is full of ferns.

Well, it turns out not all of the ferns are ferns. There are a few “ferns” that are furry…and those are the poppies!

I’ve enjoyed seeing how fast the pods swelled, split, shed the green, unfurled their red and black petals, and then a few days later lost their color. This type of poppy is apparently a perennial, so I’m hopeful there are more hidden in the bed and that we’ll have more bright color soon!

*** This personal blog is comprised solely of the opinions, views, projects, and travels of its author, Stacey Morgan Smith. She is lucky enough to have loving family and friends whom she drags along with her on her adventures and whom she puts to work on her little farm. She uses this blog to help promote living in the mountains of the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, from Roanoke to the Potomac River.**