Meconopsis - the fabled Blue Poppy

In the beginning, there was gardening. We had an end of terrace Edwardian property in Surrey with a 4 or 5 terraced long patch on Surrey sand. Of course, we fell in love with the Meconopsis family. The more difficult and tricky the better.

Meconopsis require moisture and not too much hot sun. Scotland is a great place to grow them and probably Cumbria and Wales as well. Devon is just a tad too warm to feel complacent about growing meconopsis but we did. The pictures here are Meconopsis Grandis. We have grown and handful of other species most notably a spectacular if not particularly photogenic clutch of the red flag poppy Meconopsis punicea - the poor dears were grown in unlovely pots so we could give them exact attention and when they nearly all flowered - a good dozen or more - and their little red petals waved in the breeze it was quite a sight. They died soon after, but that is what many Meconopsis species do - Flower (set seed) and Die.

Once I got into stained glass, I wanted to try to capture some of that meconopsis magic. My first serious design was of Meconopsis Grandis and I based it on the first two pictures. The panel is made in the copperfoil (sometimes called Tiffany) method and is about 2 foot tall by about 10 inches wide. I actually think it is one of my best designs still. Although I would change the border and tweak it a bit, it is one of the few designs that I would enjoy repeating.

The next two designs are smaller - only about 9 inches by 5 inches or so. These are portraits of Meconopsis punicea and another smaller rarer Meconopsis (can't quite remember which one). Again I quite like these designs but would alter them slightly.

As you can see from the images of the artglass panels my photographic skills haven't quite got the measure of taking really good images yet. We have so many trees here at Hedgelands that it is nearly impossible to get a clear bit of sky behind the panels to show them off without background interference.

Of course, the best way to see Meconopsis is where the plant is growing. The same is true of Artglass work. Best to see it in a window and continue to see it as the light changes through the days and seasons. It might be the gloomiest day, but the window with some artglass in it brings some colour and drama.

Next time . . . How to save your local village shop - a case study