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This odd blue-grey brush-like perennial flower is Eryngium alpinum, which was planted in 2007 and bloomed for the first time this year. It is almost 3 feet (90 cm) tall and fits in well in the middle of a raised bed.
While not a perennial, this little poppy in the alpine garden self-seeds and the two plants I started with last year left some lovely offspring that are blooming now in early August. This Papaver miyabeanum "Pacino" has a sulphur-colored flower and is known as the Japanese poppy.
Once again, I conclude that the Papaver rhoeas (corn poppies, Shirley poppies) give me a boost of garden-happiness. To keep some in a vase, I sealed the stems to prevent the latex from dripping out, a tip which I had read on the internet. I burned the bottom of the stem with the flame from a BBQ lighter for about 10 seconds. It worked better than I had imagined and the flowers looked great for about 3 days.
Papaver rhoeas as a cut flower:
Here is the view of the center raised bed from our house:
Center raised bed, with some lilies yet to bloom and Papaver rhoeas blooming on the right:
4 comments:
Does burning the stems work for all poppies, or just Papaver rhoeas?
A boost of garden-happiness indeed! Poppies are a cure for many things. I hope you'll keep having the E. alpinum come back; mine has disappeared but I have many E. planum, and they're gloriously in bloom.
A vicarious boost of garden happiness for all of us who enjoy your photographs.
To Karen, yes, burning the stems is good for all poppies. Here's a page Google popped up for me with conditioning tips for all sorts of flowers:
http://www.belmontgardenclub.info/Categories/FlowerArranging.html
I love the look of sea-holly but don't think I've ever seen it in Sydney; it might not like our climate. Love the beautiful shades on the poppies too!
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