Dorset: Opium Capital of the South!
“I’m sure they’re poppies” I thought to myself the other day as I drove to Dorchester from Corfe Mullen. You don’t see many poppy fields nowadays. I think the last one I saw was probably 15 years ago. A whole field of brilliant red field-poppies blooming wild after a crop of peas or beans had been harvested in late summer.
But this field wasn’t full of wild poppies these were pink and the seed-heads were massive. Obviously a cultivated type… weird. Just two fields but full to the brim with waving poppy heads. I couldn’t resist pulling over and taking a photograph.
OK, they probably aren’t for opium. More likely poppy seeds for your next poppy-seed covered loaf, but hey I thought a heading like that might catch your attention, they were beautiful and it made me smile. All good enough reasons in my book.
Coming home I decided to take some pics of the red poppies in my garden, so now you have a poppy filled post. Don’t get tooo high!
Fantastic pictures of your poppies Jane! I did notice the 2 fields of pale, washed out looking poppies, after you mentioned them. Not something you see very often – imagine how striking it would be if they were all the same colour as your poppies!
Your poppies are so beautiful – superb photos Jane. Rather strange to see two fields of pallid poppies in Dorset!
Hi Steve. I wish I’d seen them in full bloom. However, my little poppies are a much better colour. You just can’t get that colour in other flowers, it’s a true red.
Thanks Dragonstar. It was strange to see them. I did have to do a double take (and actually had to turn the car round and go back). Beautiful to see 2 whole fields of them though – definately a first for me.
Seeing poppy filled fields (there’s some in West Sussex) is such a cheery sight. Your’s are a wonderful colour, Jane.
Thanks Tricia. I think the red shows up really well against the black background of the blog…. I now have this as my desktop picture, it fills me with “get up and go”.
I kind of like the thought that Dorset could be the opium capital! I mean it’s a very proper county and for it to be supporting a bit of creative law breaking tickles my humour…no offence meant. Happy, jolly pics too – just what I need when it’s gloomy outside and apparently everyone else is basking in sun!
Hi Paula. No I totally agree… although I’d never really thought of Dorset as a “proper” county… more yokel (maybe it’s the people I mix with
all blimin farmers!) I just keep imagining people stopping to cut off a few poppy heads and taking them home. Apparently it is the same type of poppy that you make opium from (me being naive I didn’t know that!) next time I lick all the poppy seeds of my bread I’ll know why it tastes “so good”.
Nice photos. Actually, they may be for opium/morphine production:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1028504/The-opium-fields-England–heroin-producing-poppies-grown-make-NHS-pain-relief-drugs.html
Many thanks for the link. They are identical to the poppies I have seen in Dorset. It looks like the farmers do quite well out of the crop… which the pharmaceutical company actually harvesting/transporting the crop for them. Plus they use the seeds in the food industry. Strange that they don’t say anything about Dorset but my post heading may not be so far from the truth! Jane
I keep forgetting to go and get a field of poppies shot Jane!
Thanks for reminding me!
Lovely shots (as always).
Doug
No problem Doug… I’m here to help!