Reaching for the sky

The photos with this blog will speak for themselves. One of the ornamental poppies in my garden grew to 5+ feet high. The flower would sit comfortably in the palm of my hand, each petal a soft red on the outside and a deep indigo in the centre. The problem with it was that no one could see the beauty of the flowers because it was so tall and today, with all the petals blown away, it looks out of place because of its height amongst the other flowers at its base.

There are 8 seed balls left to explode and fill the garden with poppies next year. I really don’t want that number of poppies so I will remove the whole plant and leave more normal sized poppies to do the seeding for next year.

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I wasn’t sure whether to call this blog ‘The sky’s the limit’ or ‘Head and shoulders above everything else’. The ‘head and shoulders’ title is complimentary – this tall poppy would be easily noticed and has been a talking point. Found in a person it would make a good attractive attribute in a jobseeker or someone looking for a career or seeking promotion. The other title, ‘The sky’s the limit’, would have the potential to not be a good choice, for instance would there be qualities of sensitivity and a good team player, so that the final outcomes would not be singularly personable, but rather an overall success story. It is comparatively easy to set our sights on getting to the top, but not so easy to take others with us. So, this rather eye-catching poppy was rather a disappointment. Its energy has been spent on producing its growth, the leaves at its base are withering and it’s time to go. The other poppies in that stretch of garden will be left to be picked and compliment flower arrangements. It’s a salutary reminder that getting to the top isn’t everything. We need to be part of the whole. I chose the title ‘Reaching for the sky’ because we all should reach for the sky, but it’s how we do it that counts. ​

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Merle Sparkes

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