Blue Himalayan Poppy

It is always a joy to see these Himalayan Blue Poppies growing at Reader Rock Garden, and I was happy to find two of them in bloom yesterday, 27 June 2018. I almost missed them, as they were hidden in a tangle of trees and tall plants. The sun was shining, but it was quite windy, as so often happens when I go there. I used to love going to this garden, usually after I had been volunteering in the same part of the city. Since I stopped volunteering there, I only get a rare visit. Yesterday, I decided I had better go, or the plants would be in seed before I finally made it there. This was the first time I had been this year.

"Blue Himalayan Poppies are one of the most impressive plants for the shade garden. Plants form a rosette of hairy leaves, bearing large satiny flowers in an amazing shade of true blue. These are not always easy to please, demanding an evenly moist, rich soil and cool woodland conditions. Plants are not long lived, typically flowering in the second or third year, setting seed, then dying out. Gardeners in hot summer climates seldom succeed with these plants, yet they are surprisingly tolerant of cold winter conditions."

www.perennials.com/plants/meconopsis-betonicifolia.html

Shortly before I left the garden, I noticed a lady standing on the path ahead of me, beckoning me to quietly keep walking towards her. When I reached her, she kindly pointed to a bird of prey perched in one of the trees. I'm not sure of the ID, but think it might be a Cooper's Hawk - I have seen them there before. Unfortunately, it was almost completely in shadow and had its back towards us, but I did manage to get a shot when it happened to turn its head just enough to catch the sun, and I was able to see its red eye. The tip of its tail, seen in some of my other photos, was curved, not straight.