Dan's Papers - April 10, 2009

Recently I took a trip to Los Padres National Forest and the Carrizo Plains, both of which are north of Los Angeles, to do some spring time wildflower viewing. This is a very popular activity as vast areas within the national forest and the Santa Monica Mountains can have entire hillsides splashed with brilliant color. We were in search of fields of the native California poppy, a surprising and bold annual that seeds itself all over the wild areas as well as the California roadsides. Hiking up canyons into the mountains and down into ravines of the San Andreas fault left us astounded by these plants' ability to live in harsh environments. As we took off for our departure back to New York, my husband suggested that I look out the window because even the runways of LAX were carpeted in sunny orange.

A client of mine from Los Angeles once forbade me to plant California poppies. To her they were roadside weeds - too pedestrian for a fancy East Hampton perennial border. But given the right location (they like it dry and hot) California poppies can make a brilliant early summer border that seems more exotic once you transport them out of the wild. The silvery, fern like foliage is lush but not too high, and the silky flowers emerge just above it. So at 6 to 10 inches, they are the perfect choice for the front edge of the garden. The seeds need to go down right now when it is still cool and wet out - remember, it's the early spring rainy season that gets them ready to germinate in their natural environment.

Popoies will diminish in bloom after July, but if you mix nasturtiums of any color into the border with them, by the time the poppies fade and the foliage starts to dry out the nasturtiums will take over and cover the area for the rest of the gardening season. And even if there is an overlap you can color coordinate the two while enjoying the strong contrast between the laciness of the poppy foliage and the graphic round leaves of the nasturtium.

In addition to orange, California poppies are available in colors like cream, rose or even a grape jelly purple. If they are combined with cherry red, yellow or orange nasturtium seeds, a bold, long blooming effect can be had at very little expense. Just remember that when seeding in, less is more. Poppies seeds are tiny, about the size of the head of a pin, but the plant becomes about 8 inches wide. A nasturtium has a much bigger seed that yields a much bigger plant, so space them at least 10 inches apart. Thinning out the poppies is not a problem, but transplanting is. Poppies tend to have taproots that resent disturbance.

This poppy/nasturtium combo is an inexpensive way to get a lot of color in the garden. You only need to be mindful of watering. The poppies like initial moisture and then some dryness or else they will rot. Once they start to go though, turn up the water since nasturtiums like it more damp (if you use that combination). Or for generally hot areas like the edges of sunny patios, seed in poppies when you plant a border of alyssum - the poppies can be carefully pulled out once their day in the sun is done and the allyssum can continue to spread. Next year you may find random poppies growing in odd places but a quick reseeding will be necessary to get the same density of bloom.