Homer's Travels: My Poppies Went Poof!

Tuesday, June 05, 2012

My Poppies Went Poof!

One of the nice surprises along the Camino last year were the blooming poppies along the trails.  They provided a nice splash of red color along the way.  When I reached Logroño last year I saw this at the municipal albergue:

Pilgrim Flower Pots in Logroño.
This gave me an idea.

This year I took my Camino boots, drilled some drainage holes in the sole of the shoes. filled them with dirt, and planted poppy seed in them.  One boot had California poppies, the other oriental poppies that looked similar to the red poppies I saw in Spain.

I think I planted them a little late doing the planting in late April.  The California poppies never came up but the oriental poppies sprouted six or seven plants.  They didn't grow much, seeming to stop growing entirely once they got to be an inch tall but they stayed green.

Once the weather turned warm I moved the boot with the oriental poppies out to our deck.  After a week or so of nothing, one of the little sprouts figured out what it was supposed to do and shot up a half inch nearly overnight.  It went from having one tiny leaf to three tiny leaves.  I had hope that I would eventually have a poppy to display on Homer's Travels.

I noticed this amazing growth twenty-four hours ago.  Now ... it's all gone.  Poof.  Not ... A ... Trace.  The one big poppy ... gone.  The other six little sprouts that really weren't doing much ... gone.  Not sure if it was bugs or birds but whatever it was they were thorough in their destruction of my Camino tribute.

My only hope now is to wait to see if anything else sprouts in the boot.  Oriental poppies are perennials and, who knows, next year some of the seeds that didn't sprout this year may make a go of it.  I can only hope.

4 comments:

  1. So sorry to here about the demise of your poppies!! Now if they were trying to grow in my boots, I'd totally understand...they would be killed by the fumes!!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. KSam: LOL! I let mine air out for almost nine months before I planted.

      Delete
  2. Aw, I'm sorry they didn't work out, but it was a cool concept! My mother forbade me from trying this one at home!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mss McC: There is still hope ... Two new sprouts discovered today!!! Why would your Mom object to planting flowers in your shoes?

      Delete