The sun is shining after a couple of days of rain and the slope is glowing with the bright, happy flowers of Eschscholzia californica (Californian poppy).
I can’t help but smile every time I come home and am welcomed by such glorious colour!
The usual view
Eschscholzia californica (Californian poppy) with Thyme
The irises in bud will be pale blue, should make it zing even more.
A lovely pale yellow Iris, name unknown
The mauve flower in the background is Verbena ground cover.
Looking across from the olives
Eschscholzia californica (Californian poppy) and rosemary
Eschscholzia californica (Californian poppy) with Stipa tenuissima
Eschscholzia californica (Californian poppy)
Looking up the drive from near the gate
What’s exciting you in your garden this week? I didn’t used to like orange but in the bright sunlight here in Italy, I love it. Do you like orange? Do you think it makes a difference if the light is stronger?
Creating my own garden of the Hesperides 
Very cheery, Christina. I really like them en masse like that.
They’re all self-seeded after the initial sprinkling of seed a few years ago. I love how they more around and place themselves so well.
They do work well together and the slope is all about plants that ‘do’ well in that hot, dry position with no extra irrigation.
I could happily live with that combination of Californian poppy and Stipa tenuissima and would need little else. Gorgeous.
Glorious! I love the orange in your garden and the cheery photos today. Thank you for sharing such a happy, beautiful view.
Thanks Donica, and it’s all thanks to you, as you gave me the first seed, now they just keep making more and more!
They would look like sunshine even on a dull day, absolutely fabulous!. I’m just starting to include orange in a bed that is my sunset bed and also the one opposite which is the sunrise bed, like you I’m coming to like the colour gradually
I do think the light makes all the difference. You must be an early riser if you are planning a sunrise bed!
This area looks fabulous. I love the next-to-last photo where the poppies seem to be tumbling right down the hill. I think you were wise to use a brightly colored flower such as this orange poppy that hold its own against the bright sun.
That’s just what they do susie, they tumble down the slope, which means of course that you can see so many at one glance.
The poppy display is even better than last year! I’ve sown some this year, inspired by your slope. They are about an inch high! Can’t wait for them to get established and start seeding themselves about.
I hope they grow well for you. If they have grown to an inch, they will be fine. I look forward to seeing them.
I really like the Eschscholzia with the Euphorbia. That shouts out loud and clear!
They seem to look good with a lot of different other things.
Now that would make me smile on coming home too! Very cheerful. I love seeing those poppies in your slope every year. 🙂 I like orange in the garden too, especially in spring, and I have some wonderful orange tulips which I must post about soon…. not everyone’s cup of tea, but I am loving them!
Oh I like orange tulips, I’m looking forward to seeing which ones you have. Have a lovely May Day.
Thanks, you too Christina!
Beautiful and so cheerful! It’s amazing to think you created all that over just a few years, not just the poppies, I mean all the supporting and background shrubs and grasses. You can really be proud at a time like this 🙂
This year it is all coming together the way I imagined that’s one reason it is so upsetting about the Box; as it is going to feel like starting again, I want to be positive and view it as a new opportunity but I am so enjoying the beginnings of maturity in the garden.
I’m sure California poppies were made just to make people happy…it’s impossible not to smile when these are in bloom on a sunny day. I like orange: from the orange autumn foliage that we are having at the moment to the bright, zingy flowers. The slope certainly is a great composition 🙂
That’s an interesting observation Matt; many people love the orange and yellows of the leaves in autumn but say they hate those colours in flowers. I’ve never thought of that before, I wonder why leaves are ok and flowers not.
Strange you should post on this as I was glancing at Sarah Raven’s “The Bold and Brilliant Garden” and I felt that as my favourite colours are delicate blues, pinks and white that it could get a bit insipid. I have decided to try and be more daring. I think orange is going bit too far 😉 although I have been given two orange flowering plants. I would not call your poppies orange but deep yellow. I have loved them in your garden and I have seeded them in mine this year. Amelia
I definitely see them as orange! There are some yellow ones in other places in the garden and it is easy to tell them apart. They are also available in other colours, the Thai Silk mix is shades of pink, I’ll show some soon; there is also a beautiful cream that might work well for you.
I do love it when your poppies start to flower! It will be even more wonderful with the blue iris. What an energising welcome home.
They even brighten a dull day like today, although they don’t open their petals but they still look wonderful like many orange beaks.
The colour combination of orange and green/ blue works so well and all the better for looking like natural drifts. I guess the poppy has seeded itself around? To be greeted by that sight as you come home is very special.
Yes, the poppies are very prolific in their seeding around, I just pull out handfuls if they are in totally the wrong place otherwise I just leave them to it
They are obviously very happy there.
Everything you see on the slope is happy because they don’t receive any care; I chose things that would look after themselves for this difficult area and because of this I almost like this part of the garden the most.
That’s a very cheerful colour for May Day, they look splendid. Here in the west it is cold and windy, so its great to see that splash of orange.
Here it’s sunny but also quite windy; out of the wind it is hot in the wind cold!
Gorgeous and cheery. I love seeing flowers in drifts and how your hillside garden has so many different looks over the seasons.
I love how the slope changes with the seasons too, and all naturally, the only intervention is some weeding every so often.
What a sight! Glorious. Just sowed some cream-coloured ones which I admired in a friend’s garden last year and hope they’ll come up. How are things with the box caterpillars? I was told they have arrived at your place too.
The cream Eshscholzia are wonderful too, I hope yours grow well for you. The box caterpillar are devastating, today all my box have been dig out and burnt!
I’m handpicking mine and have stuff from Bayer in case it gets worse.
I didn’t react quickly enough and mine were completely defoliated. Some of the chemicals that are being offered for sale her are actually banned substantances, very harmful to bees. Read the comments on my GBFD post for April, the bacteria sounds like a good option if the problem isn’t too bad.
I have never really bothered to grow Eschscholzia before but I think I will give it a go after seeing it look so wonderful in your garden. It looked fabulous last year and this year it is even better. What a lovely, cheery picture it makes. I love orange and like to combine it with cinnamon shades.
Do look for the other colours too Liz, I’ll show some of the Thai Silk series next week, they are lovely bright colours, or the lovely cream, which I want to establish in other parts of the garden.
No wonder you love the Eschscholzia – it does make for a smile on that slope! I suspect you are quite right about using stronger colours in brighter climates; that has certainly been my experience so far, going from pastels to some eye-popping shades just because they show so much better here… rather surprised at my change in preferences as I would never have selected those colours before the move… 😉
I don’t think I had anything orange, yellow (apart from daffodils) in my English garden.
Those CA poppies are so wonderful. The ones I direct sowed in my Driveway Border have germinated but they are still very tiny. If they flower, I guess it will be in June.
Excellent…anything orange looks great to me, even on cloudy days. While the first photo down the driveway is my favorite view, the mix of Stipa (Nasella) and Eschscholzia is good. Just be careful you don’t end up with many more Stipa!
I wonder when the last time was here that it rained 2 straight days, let alone in spring…but several consecutive hours several weeks ago paid off.
lovely Christina, such a happy, sunny sight, Frances
I do love orange…and because of your stunning CA poppies I planted some seeds too. Can’t wait to see them blooming in my garden.
I’m sure they will look fabulous in your garden, Donna.
I’ve been looking forward to this view of your slope. I scattered a mix of poppy seeds on Delusional Drive and they are just beginning to show themselves. Hoping for something similar to your explosion of color. Thanks for the inspiration.
My pleasure.
Your poppies look better than ever this year, glorious x
I love plants that take care of themselves!