The unfurling of the first blossom of Meconopsis ‘Grandis’ (the fabled Himalayan blue poppy) in May of 2012 was cause for a champagne celebration. After years of hearing from more experienced gardeners that growing this beautiful plant in our Zone 4-5 garden was impossible, I found the courage to give it a try. It was exhilarating to observe that all six plants – some M. “Grandis’ and some M. ‘Betonicifolia’ (otherwise known as ‘Baileyii’) – bloomed and that their blossoms lasted almost 3 weeks. They are now covered by spruce boughs to keep them insulated from the extremes of weather we’re likely to experience over the winter and our fingers are crossed that they’ll survive into next year.
