I've always wanted to grow red poppies. Some years ago I visited Monet's garden in Giverny and close by there was a field with a riot of joyful red poppies, singing and dancing in the sunlight like tipsy cardinals on a picnic. Since then, in an attempt to recreate that effect, I've bought countless packets of seeds but had no luck striking them. I can grow yellow poppies and orange poppies with ease and they self-seed without any effort on my part. But red ones? No. So imagine my delight when I found red poppy seedlings at the Saturday market! I've been busy planting them in clusters and tending them carefully. Let's hope they grow. But just in case I can't grow them, I've painted some instead!
