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Qu’il est ardu de garder l’équilibre dans ce monde à la renverse. Juste garder la ligne blanche de la raison, ne pas sombrer dans la facilité, la médiocrité, ne pas se dévoyer dans des penchants de traverse pour s’oublier comme certains… Garder le cap, la vie en eurythmie, pour trouver l’ataraxie ailleurs que dans les livres pour fuite, peut-être un jour... le chemin de la quiétude en horizon.
Michaël Overberg
As a transition, however short, into wildflowers, cacti, and succulents of less prickly and neater kind, let me introduce you (again) to the Matilija Poppy. On the way to the swamp in a vacant field is a ... well, at least a 20x50 foot of wild Matilija Poppies. They're been there since I can remember, but they only bloom for three weeks a year, and I didn't pay them no nevermind. That is, until last week when I really got a good look.
Romneya is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the poppy family (Papaveraceae). There are two species in genus Romneya, which was named for Irish astronomer John Thomas Romney Robinson. They are known commonly as Matilija poppies or tree poppies and are native to California and northern Mexico. No wonder I never noticed them before: they're natives! Hence, how could they be considered exotic?
Well, they are six inches across, on six to eight foot stems, bend in 30 mph winds but do not break, and can even make a vacant lot look inviting. Whatever we're doing for them, including nothing, they love it. At Ruth Bancroft Garden, they are sprinkled in ones and twos throughout the three acres, and are very nice accents. Yet, I have never seen them in anyone else's landscaping, nor have I seen them sold in nurseries.
Ah, a possible answer "They are not easily grown but once established are difficult to remove. In the wild, they are known as "fire followers" as they can be frequently, but not exclusively, found in burned areas. It is also known as the "fried egg flower" or "fried egg plant". So, #1, once you got them, you may have them forever; #2 they are probably invasive, but that was found out before they became so; and #3 If you want some, come live in a state known for its fires!