Roadside poppies If you’re fortunate enough to be enjoying sunny winter days in a warm climate, you’ll likely notice the roadsides lighting up in late February with spring’s earliest wildflowers. Among the most charming are the roadside poppies, waving their vividly coloured, tissue-thin petals on the thinnest of stems. These wild poppies are the dainty Shirley, Iceland and California corn poppies that are surprisingly sturdy and easy to grow. Despite their wild nature, the smaller poppies have been the work of plant breeders for more than a century, resulting in dozens of colour choices among both single and frilled double blossoms with names like ‘Champagne Bubbles’, ‘Angel’s Choir’, and ‘Falling in Love’. The Shirley poppies (P. rhoeas) were bred in the 1880s by the Rev. W. Wilks, starting with one wasteland flower found in his Surrey garden. (The scarlet remembrance poppy commemorating World War I military deaths is also a Shirley poppy.) Iceland poppies (P. nudicaule) are native to northern Europe and North America; and the swaths of bright corn poppies (Eschscholzia californica) are indigenous in the United States and Mexico. Seeds for these bright poppies can be purchased through online catalogues, and will bloom for six to eight weeks in your home garden. They are perennial plants that can be grown as annuals, and will bloom the first year from an early sowing directly into garden soil. In early May, provide a soft soil bed in bright light, free of grass and weeds. Scatter the seeds and cover them lightly with an inch of peat moss or fine mulch. Keep the seeds wet and watch for germination. Thin the seedlings to six inches apart, and enjoy a summer display of dancing poppies reminiscent of faraway roads. Gardening Topics we will discuss: • Who we are • Lobbying the federal, provincial, territorial and U.S. governments • Benefits of being a CSA member • Trip planning • Border crossing issues • How to count days in the U.S. • Forms – 8840 and W-8BEN • Travel medical insurance • Canadian Retiree Visa What we need: • Minimum attendance of 25 persons • Suitable presentation room • Projection screen or blank wall To arrange a FREE presentation in your community, please email the CSA at csastaff@snowbirds.org CSA DIRECTORS SPEAK! Canadian Snowbird Association Directors are available for presentations at your community meetings CANADIAN SNOWBIRD ASSOCIATION 180 Lesmill Road, Toronto, Ontario Canada M3B 2T5 1-800-265-3200 www.snowbirds.org The session will be followed by a brief question & answer period CSANews | WINTER 2019 | 53
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MzMzNzMx