These were supposed to be a mix of all different colors and forms of
Papaver somniferum, but they've turned out to all be this pink. I'm slightly disappointed, but it is a lovely shade of pink. Especially when back-lit by the rising sun:
In their native habitat, I believe these are pollinated by beetles (I've heard it hypothesized that the dark spots at the base of many poppy flowers mimic the appearance of a beetle in the flower, so male beetles will visit in hopes of it being a female -- though I've not seen any research actually demonstrating that.) But here the hover flies are all over them.
I doubt the hover flies do a very good job pollinating -- they seem to just hang out on the stamens eating pollen. But there sure are a lot of them. And hover flies are cool, so I'm glad they're getting a good meal.
6 comments:
They look lovelly!
I've never seen the type of pink poppies!
In Portugal we don't see many poppies in the gardens.
I was in London at the Chelsea Flower Show and saw a few very beautiful Poppies.
They also had a few in the more traditional English garden area at Kew Gardens!!
They are really nice!!
Ah, yes, the joy of seed strains. You've got to admire genetic variability, even if it tends to mess up the garden color scheme. This year has been a diaster for poppies in my garden. Only one plant out of dozens of seeds sown. Fortunately, mine appears to be the right color. Regardless, the poppies are lovely. I think I'd grow them just for the glaucous foliage. (I love that word.)
I love poppies. Something must pollinate them because they self sow freely in my garden.
I don't know why you would be disappointed with these pink poppies, they are so beautiful.
I was looking for an e-mail address to contact you and ask permission to use the image of the poppies back-lit by the sunshine on my blog.
I love flowers and I write poetry and prose and often use images to complement the theme of my words. I would credit you with the image and provide a link to your blog.
My e-mail address is in my blog profile which you can find by clicking on my avatar.
I would be most grateful if you would contact me.
Kind regards,
Dianne Dawes
Hover flies are the main attraction in the present environment as they gracefully navigate and pollinate these pink poppies. In this way nature unfolds her own web of life, making the garden a living painting that captures beauty.
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