blue-sky poppies
An accomplished plantswoman sought a peony for her collection, offering in exchange a clump of Himalayan poppies. She had mastered a propagation technique that yielded hundreds of these Zone-6-hardy plants in her Zone 3, north-country garden.
Blooming in late spring, the vigorous plants (meconopsis grandis) are perfect peony companions.
Gardeners interested in trying them are invited to contact her via this website (poppies@criv.com). She offers divisions and demonstrates how to sustain and propagate these plants as she has done in her northern New Hampshire garden for years.
These exotic newcomers to the peony garden are the bluest blue—pieces of the sky on stems.