3 Weeks Time. . .

I had a little trip out to California over the forth and it was a good chance to see how the garden grows in a short amount of time.  When I left, we had been having record heat and EXTREME fire danger.  Not good conditions for a 4th of July fireworks fest.  But the day after I left, the monsoons started and Crested Butte has settled into a nice (and sometimes tempestuous) rain cycle.  Yesterday lightening cracked so close, half the town lost power for half an hour. 

June 26th, 2012

My oriental poppy was budding out and I was anxious to see what color it would be since it hasn't bloomed since I planted it 3 summers ago.  I'm pretty sure I bought a red one, but you never really know. . . The oriental poppies around town have struggled this year, even though I think they usually thrive on a certain amount of neglect and heat.  I went to take a picture of a house that my friend used to live in that had a huge mass of double orange poppies and they looked. . . well, they looked heinous.  Crispy and brown with very few flowers.  I have a love/hate relationship with Oriental's as they can be such a great huge pop of color, but after they bloom, their foliage tends to flop and look horrible.  They seem to look best in a mass (where they can be cut back after they start to fade) or in a place where other foliage will cover up the hole that they leave after blooming.  So turns out:

July 18th, 2012

They are orange. . .
Poppy Time:

'Watermelon'

This is an unusual 'Watermelon' Oriental in town. . .

'Princess Victoria Louise'

They are incredibly stunning with their huge seed pods and feathery anthers.  The Icelandic Poppy is another strong performer around here.  Deadheading prolongs bloom time, but allow them to drop some seeds toward the end of the season so they can propagate.