Poppy Seeds on the Hoof

     Last summer seems but a watery blur now.  Nyel was recovering from a total knee replacement; I was perfecting my role as Nurse Ratched which, unbeknownst to us at that time would be a continuous performance for more than a year.  And it rained almost continuously – or so I remember.
     Our garden was last on the “to do list” – probably not even on it at all..  So, imagine my amazed surprise this summer to see what our neglect has wrought!  Suddenly, our flower beds are a profusion of purples and yellows and oranges.  Never have our day lilies bloomed so vigorously or the lupines grouped themselves so artfully.
     But it is the poppies that are astounding.  They are the big red-orange variety with the stunning black-seeded centers – tall, graceful, showy.  And this year they are everywhere.  They first showed up in our garden eight or nine years ago, brought to us no doubt by a benevolent bird.  There were only a few of them, clustered in among the York roses.
     Each summer since, the poppies have increased a bit.  In my efforts at tidiness (despite the advice of Nahcotta neighbor Sojourner!), I’m sure I kept them deadheaded most of the time.  But, last year I didn’t seem to have time or inclination for any garden work, necessary or otherwise.  It was a year of benign neglect as far as things outside the house were concerned.  Who could have imagined that we would reap rewards not penalties for our negligence!
     Of course, that’s the positive side of the story.  There is a downside – the ever-encroaching buttercups, the morning glory twining and strangling everything in its path, and the crab grass that creeps and sneaks under everything.  But, at least, I’ve sorted out a few priorities and deadheading poppies is not among them.