3238 Wild Flowers / Poppies - daft question?

[QUOTE=malvernian]Hi,

The house that I am taking on soon has a good-size 'formal' garden, and a hectare of steep sloping, south facing field running down from the house. It has a number of olive trees, but I fancied planting some self-seeding annuals like poppies to please the eye. So, two questions:

1. Can I take seed over from the UK or are there restrictions? I would prefer to buy locally (as with everything) but have not tracked a suitable place down yet near Ripatransone.

2. Does anyone have any experience of how easily they are likely to seed? Being naturally lethargic I dream of keeping ground preparation to a minimum.:o

Thanks

John[/QUOTE]

Wildflowers seed readily, so don't worry about that. First off, do not take seed from the UK - better to buy locally as you maintain genetic purity (something that I am told is quite important). You should be able to buy seedmats or scatter packs from your local garden centres.

John
If you want as little ground preparation as possible i would go for a wild flower mix. Poppies grow best on 'disturbed' ground, hence the massive flowering on the battlefields after the 1st World War and on building sites.

Good luck, it sounds a lovely idea
Carol

Thanks,

I think I will go for a mix, and maybe 'disturb' a few areas to increase seeding and draw the eye to specific points. Incidentally, it is the Flanders poppy which you refer to in your post that most appeals to me.

John

Sorry if this reply goes off at a bit of tangent, but what will grow really depends more on what is done with the soil than on what you plant there.

I keep the ground under the olive trees in our front garden mowed; it looks like a nice green lawn at this time of year, but goes yellow and bald-looking in summer and wild flowers barely get to establish themselves before the grim reaper (me) passes.

The farmer next door to us churns up the soil under his trees with a tractor-drawn disc thing (called a 'morgano') and it looks like a battlefield for a week or two, until the wild flowers and grass spring up in the loose-packed soil and it erupts in a riot of colour that I gaze at wistfully over the fence.

Its neccesary to keep weeds under control in your olive grove, because of brambles, other nasties and the risk of fire, but otherwise what grows there is what has learned to survive the long dry summers; poppies, wild broccoli, marigolds, scabious, fritillaries, violets, hyacinths, sage, cornflowers and what have you. What I'm saying then, is that it may be rather ineffective bringing seeds over, unless you cultivate one small part of your land (maybe by the outlet of your pozzo nero) as a rough-and-ready nursery area, and spread the seeds they create around. As far as poppies are concerned, in a month or two's time you'll be able to gather bagfulls of seed from the wild to spread around your garden. If you have a hectare to look after, your best bet might be to get a local farmer with a caterpillar-tracked tractor to turn the soil over once every couple of years, relax with a G&T and see what comes-up.

A couple of years ago, a friend of mine toddled into a field at the top of the road and took the attached.....:)

Would be great if you could achieve this...:)

Yes, two great pics. I would like to think that in time I may get close.

The idea of the local farmer had occured to me. I think that this would be the sensible way to go. Especially the G&T. Still, I suspect that I will have a crack at doing it myself manually to begin with. Perhaps with locally collected poppies and some shop-bought wildflower mix. Fingers crossed.

Our local Lidl (in Italy) had some good value cardboard tubs of mixed wildflower seeds recently. Might be worth visiting one to see if they have them. Of course, I realise that no-one in Malvern would be seen dead in a Lidl supermarket. You might have to drive as far as Bromsgrove to find one ;-)

Malvernian

I do agree with the others, however, if you get desperate & I have yet to see a pack of seeds for wild flowers here, then I suggest that you buy in England where they are plentiful & yes you can bring them over. I brought seeds from my own lavender & 1 other flower & planted them successfully, they have even made it thru the winter. I was reading thru my gardening notes that diseases are not passed on thru seeds, which means you will be gilt free.

I would try the other ideas 1st & go for my option only in desperation. The fields of wild flowers are a sheer delight, as are the fields of sunflowers in the late summer.

Regards

Lavender Field

I have held off telling you this cautionary tale - but I just can't resist any more! I assure you it is entirely true (and was covered extensively in the English Press - Telegraph and Mail and the like, and featured on BBC R4 Woman's Hour) two - or perhaps three years ago.
A middle aged British couple, one (at least) with a medical profession background, had bought a house in a small village in Umbria. They had done up this house, and had a load of poppies growing in their garden.
One eventful morning, about 5am, two pattaglie of Carabinieri, plus vigili urbani from two neighbouring Comuni, surprised the locality by blocking the road to this village in a dawn raid on this British couple. It appeared that the forces of law and order had received intelligence that this was an opium plantation!
It resulted in said couple spending at least one night in jail in Perugia, and they were most upset by this undiplomatic treatment.
Clearly there was "something" behind this dramatic reaction on the part of the army - (the local assumption was that the Brits had massively ofended some neighbour, and it had all got out of hand) - and the moral of the story I suppose is to sow your poppy seeds, but show your neighbours the package and explain that they are going to be pretty flowers!! (Or offer them a pull at the hookah!)

I read that story too! If its any consolation, the poppy concerned was [url=http://www.saxifraga.de/foto_bot/papaver_somniferum.jpg]Papaver Somniferum[/url] - the Opium Poppy, rather than the common red poppy. Strangely enough, I've never seen those growing here (even though the climate seems to be ideal) so maybe that's why they attracted attention.

Talking about poppies - one of my favourites is the Welsh Poppy, [url=http://seeds.thompson-morgan.com/uk/en/product/2160/1]Meconopsis Cambrica[/url]. They come in orange and yellow and used to naturalise well in my garden in Stratford upon Avon. I'm trying to grow them here for the first time this year.

I saw the programme on telly - they were interviewed for one of those "... in Hell" programmes, I think.

They only stayed in the property on their hols and didn't have much knowledge of Italian either. The poppies were cut and the flowers & stems were kept in a pile in a corner of the garden. Apparently, as they hadn't burned them, the neighbours 'assumed' that they wanted to use them otherwise!!! :eek:

The poor couple was very upset when "these foreigners knocked on our door" (or something to that effect incl the term 'foreigners'!) early in the morning - hence I remember it. Calling the Italian Carabinieri foreigners in their own country struck me as a bit bizarre.... and I must admit I had little sympathy with them... poor sods!

A cautionary tale, though, as cutting that type of poppy should then clearly be followed by burning them!!! :)

Marc - I wish you the very best of luck with the Welsh poppy - it is truly beautiful. I managed to grow it in Lincolnshire, on a very sandy well drained soil, in light shade conditions, and kept it going for a couple of years. Quite honestly, it is a plant I would not attempt in Umbria - but please try, and prove me wrong!! The ones I (marginally) succeded with in the UK were the blue meconopsis (probably not cambrica since you say they are yellow/orange) but anyway - good luck, and they could never be mistaken for opium varieties!

Relaxed; I tried several times with the blue Meconopsis, after having seen them at Hidcote, and never had any success - they seemed to be very susceptible to fungal infections at the base. Hats off to you for managing to grow them! I resorted to the Welsh ones because they seemed to be easier. Actually, they sort of grew like weeds in my last garden.

[QUOTE=Marc]Our local Lidl (in Italy) had some good value cardboard tubs of mixed wildflower seeds recently. Might be worth visiting one to see if they have them. Of course, I realise that no-one in Malvern would be seen dead in a Lidl supermarket. You might have to drive as far as Bromsgrove to find one ;-)[/QUOTE]

Sorry - been away for a few days and missed these posts. Marc, do you know Malvern well? The creeping sub-culture of Malvern Link has indeed granted license to a Lidl :eek: Of course, at the top of the hill we have our Waitrose by God - and are proud.
;) ;)