At the end of May I photographed in Perthshire – big tree Country, Scotland UK. Branklyn Gardens in Perth
http://www.perthshire.co.uk/index.asp?pg=129 two acres, contains collection of rare and unusual plants. Most breathtaking are the Himalayan poppies, among others Meconopsis punicea. Steve McNamara garden manager and horticulturist provided the following information:
‘Meconopsis punicea is a species from Tibet and China, it is not perennial in cultivation for some reason, but is perennial in the wild. Farrer referred to it as the red flag Meconopsis because it reminded him of the Tibetan prayer flags. It has been introduced to cultivation several times but had been lost for some 25years before being reintroduced in 1986 by Peter Cox and Hutchinson from their expedition. It is necessary to hand pollinate the flowers as insect pollination is not reliable. The seed once collected is hard to germinate too; it must be sown in winter and subjected to frost to germinate. It grows in damp meadows in the wild’.
Krystyna Szulecka
