Kingdom of the blue poppy

Meconopsis betonicifolia or the blue poppy is now in flower in the cock pit. Introduced by Frank Kingdon-Ward from Yunnan, China in 1924. The RHS garden ran an article in March 1937 which, when describing the cock pit, mentions ‘a bank on which Meconopses do particularly well in the rich leaf mould… ’ also ‘At the south end… on this slope Meconopses do well…’.

Using this article Ivor, our HBGBS trainee, set about working on the cock pit as his first project (reported elsewhere) included in the plan was the re-introduction of the ‘Blue poppy’.

I had a few plants flower a couple of years ago but this time we will try to establish them by division of the clumps and collecting seed to ensure a continued crop each year.