It’s finally raining here on the north side of a small mountain in Maine and the garden is filled with poppies much to the Fairies delight.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Papaver somniferum is a beautiful poppy and adds a burst of color on an overcast day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Old Horse walks among the poppies communing with his Fairy friends.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Poppies come in a variety of colors, all shades of whites, reds, pinks, and lavenders too.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fairy Folk are responsible for coloring the poppies here in my garden. This year they selected a palate of red and shades of pink. I  love surprises and long ago decided I was more than happy to let the Fairy Folk  do as they please and paint the petals whatever colors they wish.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After the rains pass the Poppy petals will fall exposing  large seed “heads” which the sun will dry. Inside each Poppy head thousands of teeny seeds will form.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Later when the time is right you can shake the Poppy’s heads and hear the little dried seeds rattle within. Now is the time to tip the heads and collect these tiny dark seeds which you can store in paper envelopes for planting early next spring, or sprinkle that very moment onto the soil where you want them just like the plants themselves do. Each little seed has her own internal time clock and she will rest on top of the soil gradually being worked in by the rains and later the snows that will come. The seeds will rest beneath the soil this way slumbering until spring when the weather is just right and the Fairies awaken them to once again sprout, blossom and grow. Poppies with the Fairies assistance and a gentle human gardener lending a hand will repeat this cycle over and over, year after year.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sometimes if you look closely into the heart of a flower’s center you just might see a mischievous fairy face smiling back at you.