Wednesday 29 May 2013

This image is the main bed of blue poppies at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Edinburgh. They seem to be mainly Slieve Donard.  This is a standard hybrid between M. betonicifolia and M. grandis and is sterile and is called M.x Sheldonii after the man who first made this cross - W.G Sheldon in 1934 in Surrey, England. This cross of Slieve Donard was made in Edinburgh by Alec Curle many years ago and given to Edrom Nurseries south east of Edinburgh and were called Ormswell; others of this same raising found their way to the Slieve Donard nursery in Ireland and were later named after it. They are a very beautiful form and Slieve Donard and Ormswell are still available in the trade occasionally.