Sunshine in My Garden

Each year I try to add something new to the gardens. This year one of the new flowers started from seed was a delicate beauty that looks like a drop of sunshine.

This flower is listed with the poppies in the "Select Seeds Antique Flowers" catalog, (first learned about this company that specializes in heirloom seeds in 1994 from "Country Living Gardener Magazine"- still have my copy). The flower seeds are Hunnemania fumariifolia and this little treasure is called Mexican Tulip "Sunlite" Poppy. I had hoped that these flowers would be blooming in time for Melissa and Ryan's early June wedding, but they didn't start up until a couple of weeks later.
Sooooo... I am hoping to add them to some of the reception designs for Meredith and Casey's late July wedding. Maybe someday her Dad can teach her how to grow some of her own, (I understand that he's an avid gardener).
In this photo taken by Brad Fogleman, Mexican poppies are part of a mixed bouquet from the garden with Kimberly Queen fern, yarrow, tiny stems of pink larkspur, foxglove, gomphrena and Neon dianthus.
With new seed starts, I have learned not to go overboard- some turn out to be real duds! So I only have about six of these Mexican Poppy plants. Next year I will definitely make room for more. The great thing about antique or heirloom flowers is that they are open pollinated and should produce seeds that I can use next year.
Be sure to check out Select Seeds at: http://www.selectseeds.com/