Color at the Bolt Hole

When we bought the Bolt Hole in the '80s the previous owners had put in quite a few perennials an were kind enough to leave a map of what they had planted and where. Unfortunately, they had left the place vacant for nearly two years and the deer, groundhogs and weather had done a fine job of removing many of their plantings. The goldenrod and other native plants had taken over the "lawn" and come spring, it was pretty near impossible to locate much of the work done by the previous owners.

One group of plants that could be easily spotted and which survived any depredation, were the poppies. Large, showy, orange flowers appeared in mid to late May and lasted about a month before the petals fell off revealing a pepper shaker of a seed head.

Despite my best efforts (not intentional, mind you) to kill them off, they continue to provide a springtime burst of color. The flowers are just about finished for this year, as can be seen from the photos, but they will continue to spread if left alone.

Full Poppy Flower Note the tinge of faded color on the lips of the petals.

Heavy rains have begun to take their toll on the large petals.

Almost bereft of petals, the seed head is exposed.

When ripe, the dried seed head develops holes along the top. Through these holes the seeds will be shaken about by strong winds and scattered about the parent plant. Self-seeding will take place and additional poppy plants will appear next spring. Or, I could harvest those seed heads and seeds and plant a new bed of poppies wherever I want.