Poppy Pathos

Silly Poems, travel, , , , , , ,

I went hiking for some poppies,

Looking for the perfect shot.

I trekked and trekked and trekked some more,

And this is what I got.

The marigolds were perky.

The lupines were sublime.

But as for scrumptious poppy shots

It was a waste of time.

 

Was I looking far too early?

Did I get there much too late?

On my calendar from last year,

This was the perfect date.poppies

Should I go again tomorrow?

Was it the wrong time of day?

They bloom in March and April

But not as late as May.poppies and Chevy Silverado

Did javelinas eat them?

Did coyotes dig them out?

Did tarantulas eat all the seeds?

All of them? Surely not.

 

A few poppies danced in the wind

And gave some kicks and flicks

But disappointment brought me home

To look at last year’s pics.

California poppies

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52 thoughts on “Poppy Pathos”

    1. We were there not long ago for the Chihuly glass exhibit and the wildflower garden wasn’t up to much. Good suggestion but afraid I don’t want to go back and pay $20 (or $40 for two of us) to find they haven’t got them either! Last year’s pictures will have to do. There have been a few comments on the poor poppy show this year, perhaps as a result of the winter drought.

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      1. Actually I seem to remember the desert on the road running past the Desert Botanical Gardens was always full of poppies, to include the median in the road. Perhaps this year not so much given the lack of rain.

        I am with you about paying $40 to go into the garden for pictures of poppies. It would have to be pretty special for us to shell out $40.

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  3. And you’re a poet, too? How delightful! I’m wondering where in Arizona you’ve found such lush fields of California poppies. Never knowing exactly when or how abundant the blooms will be each year keeps it interesting. 😉

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    1. The California poppies seem to be in isolated pockets in AZ and rain or weather dependent as well. These photos were taken northeast of Phoenix just off Highway 87 – the crummy ones this year 😦 and the good ones last year! 🙂

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  7. I had some volunteer Cali poppies take over a stretch along my driveway last year. They bloomed like crazy through the summer, then went scraggly. Sadly there’s only a few sprouts of them showing so far. It looks like the weeds may be crowding them out. 😥

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      1. Perhaps it was the drought. We set some records this past year for dry. I do have a few poppies that have sprouted, but nothing like last year. No flowers yet, but you have to remember I’m pretty far north.

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        1. Did you know that there’s actually a hybrid Cali poppy that’s red (BEAUTIFUL!), I planted some one year and they were simply gorgeous, but not as hardy as the natives and didn’t reseed at all.

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            1. Judging by the weather I’ve seen from Cornwall, it’s very similar to ours, so that’s certainly worth pursuing. I’ll have to look around for a source. I bet they’d be stunning, too. I wonder if they’d be as hardy and self-seeding as the native Cali version.

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  8. Lovely poem, but sorry you didn’t find your poppies. The California poppies are so colourful, but we won’t see any here for a couple of months and obviously not in the wild. Poppies found in Europe are oriental poppies that come in all sorts of colours. but usually have a blotch in the centre and the corn poppy or field poppy (Papaver rhoeas) a native flower which is the red one we use for Remembrance Day.That is the one we see in fields here, and yes it is red 🙂 And then there are the cultivated varieties of course…
    Jude xx

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    1. Thanks for the backup. I know they’re red. I’ve seen fields and fields of them in the UK and France. I’ve grown them in my UK garden as well – all colours! You’ve reminded me. I’ve got photos from France. I’ll go and have a look now!

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      1. If you find them then please share!! The one flower thing I really want to photograph is a field of red poppies, but I never see one unless I am driving and there is no where to stop!! Most annoying.

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        1. I’m way ahead of you. I’ve already selected the photos and written a little ditty to go with them. The poppies were in a field beside a road and I had to walk some way away from the car and clamber through a ditch to get to them. Unfortunately for you and your camera, they are in southern France! Will post tomorrow.

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  9. Love your little creative poem….this is one of my faves. I drove out to Wickenburg and nothing. I think the poor showing of blooms is due to the low moisture received this past winter 😦 You’ll need to focus on the Saguaros which are getting close!

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  11. You could have found them in my front yard. Every year, our golden California poppies appear from last year’s seeds. I don’t know if you are aware that it is against the law to pick them in California. We just let ours seed, grow, mature, die, and re-seed. No one else in our neighborhood grows them, so they are kind of a novelty in our area.

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    1. This may be too much information but California poppies are Eschscholzia californica where the red poppies which you may be familiar with are Papaver something-or-other. So I guess they are not really poppies – just look like them! Your horticulture lesson for the day. Your welcome. 🙂

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        1. Now look what you’ve made me do! I’ve googled poppy images and they look red to me. Red? Orange? Maybe I’m color blind. The poppies worn on Remembrance Day in the UK are regarded as red. But they can be orange if you like! 😀

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