Mimpish Monday: "Doesn't it make your very soul ache?" (Meconopsis quintuplinervia)

I like this passage from The Rainbow Bridge, the second volume of Reginald Farrer's account of his 1914-1915 collecting trip to Northwest China/Tibet. Here, Farrer is writing about a vision of loveliness shared by his fellow traveler William Purdom. The two of them were moved by the beauty of the Harebell Poppy, Meconopsis quintuplinervia.

( click to read purple prose and see purple-ish flowers )

[This is an occasional series of postings inspired by Abigail Rorer, Mimpish Squinnies: Reginald Farrer's Short Guide to Worthless Plants. Rorer's book includes prints of fourteen plants Farrer considered worthless-- an interesting hybrid of botanically accurate and...different. You can see her work, including all fourteen mimpish squinnies, here: http://www.theloneoakpress.com/prints/newer.html ]

I have achieved edelweiss

This is my horticultural triumph for the year -- actually, it's sheer dumb beginner's luck and a rogue seed that grew into a plant that decided to bloom in Year 1 instead of Year 2.



This would be Leontopodium alpinus, aka edelweiss, growing here in the mountains of South Philly (elev. 36 feet). It appears that every scornful word Reginald Farrer said about the reputed difficulty of growing the stuff is absolutely correct.