Meconopsis

These lovely meconopsis (or should it be meconopses, seeing there are several?) are beside the pond in Benmore Gardens, which today presented great bursts of colour at every turn. I took so many photos that I was spoiled for choice, until I came upon these in the last sun before it went behind the hill.

Meconopsis grandis, known as the blue poppy, is the national flower of Bhutan. Blue poppies do not produce opium. In the late spring of 1922, a British Himalayan expedition, led by legendary mountaineer George Leigh Mallory, discovered the plant on their failed attempt to reach the summit of the then-unconquered Mount Everest. The flowers were introduced to much excitement at the Royal Horticultural Society's spring show of 1926. However, since they are difficult to grow, the species has become fabled over the decades. In 2009, horticulturalist and author Bill Terry published his "gardening memoir", Blue Heaven, about the plant.

So now you know ...