Blue Poppy

I visited the Reykjavik Botanical Garden one July, and discovered that it looked a lot like any Seattle garden in May. Lilacs and rhodies, spring bulbs – the usual. Probably quite an achievement in that cold climate, but ordinary to gardens from warmer climes. There were some interesting near-arctic natives. And then there was this. The Himalayan blue poppy, Meconopsis. Stuff of legend and 4-inch pots costing $10 or more. I have tried so often to grow them, and never with any success. But here they were, happily blooming in Reykjavik.