Meconopsis Grandii

A trip to Uppingham in Rutland today to see friends Clive and Elaine and their wonderful garden. Clive is justly proud of his Meconopsis (Himalayan Poppies) which he has grown from seed. The environment in his garden is just right for them.

The blue variety, Meconopsis Grandii, pictured here, is particularly beautiful. This was the only one that has bloomed so far this year. Unlike in 2014, the garden plants are behind, so I have an invitation to go over again when more are in flower.

I spent a lot of time on the ground with my tripod to get this shot, one out of four, and the only one to be acceptable. It's getting very hard to get up and down from ground position, but sometimes it's the only place to be.

It was a lovely day. Len went round the market with Elaine, who took him into a couple of ironmongery stores, a rare treat these days, and he bought prawns for tomorrow from the fish stall. We had bread and local cheese and coffee for lunch sitting outside on the terrace. Marvellous.

Basil pratted around. He seemed to enjoy himself.