My oriental poppy opened over night and it is a thing of incredible beauty. I studied my first bloom for ages this morning, taking in its crisp red crinkles from when it shed its green casing and unfurled to the morning sun, the stunning mauve stamens surrounding the perfectly segmented inner circle ,and the artistically swiped black splotches around the centre on the flower. My big fluffy bumble bee visitors are going to love it! Nature has its own order, does things to its own schedule. I've been nurturing this beautiful plant for several weeks and checking its ever growing blooms impatiently every day, and the reward is absolutely worth every minute of the wait. It's silky softness, array of red shades shimmering in the sun, black stripes radiating from the base of the bloom, a reminder that nature's time is the perfect one, not my hurry hurry hurry one!