Some Things Take a Long Time to Germinate...

Growing things from seed can be tricky. The darn things sometimes don't do what they're supposed to, in spite of your best efforts. I'm still trying to grow Himalayan blue poppies (Meconopsis beneticifolia), but my attempts this year have so far yielded no positive results. I've got an unopened packet of seeds left that I'm going to try growing in our cool basement under lights. If that doesn't work, I'll just admire Jodi's.

There's another blue flower that has eluded me for the last couple of years when I've tried growing it from seed. (What is it about the blue ones??) Nemophila menziesii, better known as Baby Blue Eyes, is a sweet little annual whose blooms resemble that of flax. I've tried a couple of times to grow them from seed, with no luck.

So last year, I saw these Seeds in a Blanket things and decided to go that route. They were guaranteed to grow!The seeds were embedded into a biodegradable fabric of a sort which could be cut into sections and placed on top of the soil. Keep it all watered well and you'll have a nice little crop of pretty blue flowers that have that charming wildflower look. I did what I was supposed to do, but the seeds didn't hold up their end of the bargain.

Or did they?


Imagine my surprise when I noticed little seedlings coming up where I'd sown the Baby Blue Eyes last spring, this spring! I had to look up what the foliage looked like on these things to make sure that's what I had discovered growing. It was. And is.

Maybe I should just toss the Meconopsis seeds into some loose soil and forget about them until next year.

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*Nemophila seed photo from Hume Seeds.