Papa John's poppies

This past winter my dad sent me a package with TONS of poppy seeds from his garden. They came in miniature manila envelopes, each individually marked and labeled by color - red, dark purple, pink, lavender and more. I scattered all the seeds in the front yard and the back garden just before the snow melted in March (as instructed). Papa John even brought more with him when he visited in May and planted them along the side of the house. I had visions of a front yard that was a field of poppies ala Wizard of Oz and large bunches of them in a rainbow of colors on the dining room table. But as luck (and my not so green thumb) would have it, not a single one flowered. None even grew higher than my ankles. I had given up on my poppies all together.

And not three weeks after resigning to a poppy-less yard, we returned from Halifax to these:

Now, it's no Wizard of Oz field, but the few we've had are just gorgeous. So delicate, the paper thin petals fall after only an afternoon's bloom.

These little beauties don't last long (and certainly wouldn't last on the dining room table) but they're a small gem in our yard.