The Poppy Man

My brother is owner and operator of Mike's Quality Trees and Mike's Mobile Greenhouse located in Palmer, Alaska.

Early this summer Mike met and did business with a most interesting man.

Stanley Ashmore of Palmer, Alaska owns several acres on 'Lazy Mountain'. Mr. Ashmore grows and sells these beautiful blue poppies. This variety is known as Meconopsis and is one of the most sought after perennial poppies in the state. Every summer Mr. Ashmore grows and pots up some 100,000 of these beautiful flowers. He and Mrs. Ashmore then take their flowers on the road, selling to greenhouses and landscapers. They also rent booth space at various fairs, weekend markets, or simply park their truck on the side of the road where they sell each and every pot for $5.00. They claim to sell every last poppy, which amounts to approximately $500,000 per summer. Incredible.

My brother decided to purchase 200 potted poppies to sell to his clients and customers. He was nice enough to gift me with quite a few pots. Here is a photo of the first blue poppy to bloom in my garden! It is definitely the pride and joy of my garden this summer. I'm hoping these poppies winter over well enough to return next year. From what I understand, if I keep my poppy plants 'happy' they will return year after year and propagate by re-seeding themselves. Perhaps one day I will be fortunate enough to have one entire flower bed dedicated to nothing but these beautiful blue poppies.